APOPO News

Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 4, 2026 — In the center of Siem Reap, a 2.2-meter stone statue now stands in honor of an unlikely hero. His name was Magawa, an African giant pouched rat trained by APOPO who helped detect more than 100 landmines and unexploded ordnance during his working life in Cambodia. Over several […]

APOPO has co-signed a global statement led by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) marking the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action on April 4, 2026, joining a group of international organizations calling for sustained investment in mine action as a foundation for peace and recovery. For APOPO, that investment

On April 4th, International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, often referred to as World Landmine Day or Mine Awareness Day, attention turns to the long-term impact of conflict on communities and land. Searches for the most bombed country in the world reflect a broader curiosity about the scale of conflict. In

By Dr. Tefera Azigew, MD, MPhil, PhD | APOPO Head of TB   Tuberculosis (TB) is both preventable and curable, yet it remains the world’s leading infectious killer. Each year, it claims more lives than any other infectious disease, including HIV and malaria. On March 24, World TB Day highlights the progress achieved as well as the

At APOPO’s training center in Morogoro, Tanzania, HeroRAT trainer Happy spends her days training African giant pouched rats to detect landmines and other explosive remnants of war. Using clicker training and positive reinforcement, she helps prepare the animals for work that supports mine clearance operations in countries affected by conflict. Her career took an unexpected

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods 3 March 2026 – This year’s World Wildlife Day theme, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods, highlights the deep connections between biodiversity, traditional knowledge, and sustainable development. In Tanzania’s Morogoro Region, APOPO’s HeroTREEs program offers a practical example of how these connections can

On 23 February 2026, His Excellency Michel Parys, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Cambodia, visited APOPO’s operations in Siem Reap, Cambodia. He was accompanied by his wife, colleagues from the Belgian Embassy, and representatives of the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD). The DGD delegation included Marc Fransen, Desk Officer for

Protecting the World’s Most Trafficked Mammal Morogoro, 21 February 2026  — World Pangolin Day falls on the third Saturday of February each year. Observed annually by conservationists, researchers, and wildlife advocates worldwide, the day raises awareness about pangolins and the urgent threats they face. Pangolins are remarkable animals, uniquely covered in protective keratin scales, the only scaly

APOPO will participate in the 4th National Ecological Organic Agriculture Conference (NEOAC), taking place from 3–5 March in Dodoma, Tanzania. NEOAC brings together those working in ecological and organic agriculture to share practical experience, present new approaches, and discuss how to strengthen sustainable farming in Tanzania and across Africa. At the conference, APOPO will host