To truly beat sleeping sickness we need to treat animals too

This innovation gap is compounded by other challenges. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), more than 17 countries in Africa, from Rwanda to Nigeria, have reported treatment failure with existing drugs due to widespread drug resistance. At the same time, few diagnostic tools exist for use in the field, often resulting in farmers treating animals based on guesswork rather than confirmed infection, which further accelerates resistance.

GALVmed’s African Animal Trypanosomosis Programme, which began in 2011 and has been funded by the UK Government and the Gates Foundation, is one of the very few coordinated efforts addressing this innovation shortfall.

As with sleeping sickness in humans, progress in eliminating AAT will depend on uniting key players in the fight against livestock disease from across the public, private and third sectors. To address this, GALVmed has collaborated with more than 20 research partners, comprising a global mix of private pharmaceutical companies, universities, and public research institutes to develop improved solutions for reducing the impact of this major African cattle disease.

But developing new drugs is only a part of the solution. Improved regulatory systems, such as the East African Community’s Mutual Recognition Procedure, are also essential to ensure that quality-assured veterinary drugs are registered and reach markets more quickly and consistently.

Progress made through tsetse control programmes also demonstrates that coordinated, long-term strategies can significantly reduce AAT infections. For example, Botswana successfully eradicated tsetse flies by using repeated aerial spraying of insecticides and traps that attract and kill the flies. In Senegal, programmes releasing sterilised male flies to interrupt tsetse breeding cycles, alongside the use of traps, have decreased tsetse populations by up to 98 per cent.

These tsetse control programmes, and more, must be matched with investments to develop safer, more affordable, and more effective veterinary drugs, delivered with the same urgency that has been applied to human health. With this approach, African countries can finally move closer to eliminating AAT and other economically damaging diseases.

The disparity between the progress in eliminating the disease in humans and animals highlights an innovation and investment gap in animal health. With new, safer veterinary drugs in development, stronger regulatory reforms, and proven tsetse-control approaches already succeeding in some countries, governments and investors have a clear path forward.

By improving access to existing solutions and accelerating investments in the next generation of veterinary drugs, African countries can ensure that rural producers are no longer left alone to fight diseases that have held back agricultural development for far too long.

Africa has already shown that sleeping sickness in people can be eliminated. With the right commitment, the same success can be achieved for animals and the rural economies that depend on them.

Alec Evans is Programme Manager, African Animal Trypanocide Development Project, GALVmed

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