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APOPO For over 25 years we have tackled landmines & tuberculosis using trained rats and other detection animals. More info: www.apopo.org
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For over 25 years APOPO has been a global leader in training scent detection animals. Since its humble beginnings, APOPO has responded to the devastating impact of landmines on people and post-conflict areas
by developing a fast, simple, and cost-efficient mine clearance technology that can be sustained within national mine action programs in low-income countries. Through its unique method of using trained African giant pouched rats, APOPO has been highly effective in detecting landmines, which has allowed the organization to expand its efforts into other fields, such as tuberculosis (TB) control, and to develop specially trained Technical Survey Dogs. As a research organization, APOPO remains committed to staying at the forefront of developing new humanitarian and environmental applications. APOPO’s Training and Innovation Center is based out of the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania. The Mine Action operations are spread across Angola, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. Additionally, operational partnerships are maintained in South Sudan, Senegal and Turkey. APOPO’s programs work within government health systems to support over 160 partner clinics in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania in their fight against TB. APOPO’s TB detection research laboratories work with trained rats and confirmatory technology to detect TB. We are supported by a large international network of diverse partners, donors, and the general public. Foundations in Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom support APOPO’s work to save lives and develop sustainable solutions in low-income countries.

Our Wildlife Detection Rats learn the same way as our other HeroRATs: scent, click, reward. Except they’re learning to f...
10/15/2026

Our Wildlife Detection Rats learn the same way as our other HeroRATs: scent, click, reward. Except they’re learning to find illegally trafficked wildlife products.

Learn more: https://apopo.org/herorats/wildlife-detection

Sophal spent almost a year clearing explosives from his own farmland, because he had a family to feed and no one else to...
10/14/2026

Sophal spent almost a year clearing explosives from his own farmland, because he had a family to feed and no one else to call.

Now APOPO’s teams are working near his home to make the land safe.

Read Sophal's story: https://bit.ly/4i9wp5s

APOPO, MAG (Mines Advisory Group) and UDA (ГО "Асоціація саперів України") were pleased to welcome Peter Wagner, Head of...
10/13/2026

APOPO, MAG (Mines Advisory Group) and UDA (ГО "Асоціація саперів України") were pleased to welcome Peter Wagner, Head of Service for the EU Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), and present the achievements of our joint work to strengthen Technical Survey Dog (TSD) methodology and local partner resilience in mine action in Ukraine.
The visit also provided an opportunity for an open discussion about what has been achieved, the challenges we face, and how we can continue building on this work.
And, of course, no visit would be complete without a taste of Ukraine. Our guests were treated to honey collected from fields that have been cleared of mines — a small but meaningful reminder of what mine action makes possible.

Thank you to our partners for their continued support, trust and open dialogue. Together, we are strengthening Ukraine’s mine action capacity and working towards safer communities.

Організації MAG, APOPO та Аcоціація саперів України з радістю зустріли Пітера Вагнера, керівника служби з питань інструментів зовнішньої політики ЄС, та презентували результати нашої спільної роботи, спрямованої на вдосконалення методології використання собак технічного обстеження та зміцнення стійкості місцевих партнерів у сфері протимінної діяльності в Україні.
Цей візит також став нагодою для відкритої дискусії про виклики, з якими ми стикаємося, та про те, як можливо й надалі розвивати цю роботу.

І, звісно, жоден візит не був би повноцінним без знайомства з українськими традиціями. Нашим гостям запропонували мед, зібраний на полях, очищених від мін, — невеликий, але значущий приклад того, що стає можливим завдяки протимінній діяльності.

Дякуємо нашим партнерам за постійну підтримку, довіру та відкритий діалог. Разом ми зміцнюємо потенціал України у сфері протимінної діяльності та працюємо над тим, щоб зробити громади безпечнішими.

Nisa is one of APOPO’s rat handlers in  , helping return safe land to her community. 🇰🇭These African giant pouched rats ...
10/13/2026

Nisa is one of APOPO’s rat handlers in , helping return safe land to her community. 🇰🇭

These African giant pouched rats are too light to set off on a real minefield and are very good at finding them with their incredible sense of smell.

10/12/2026

A rat litter remains undisturbed with mama for their first few weeks. At 4 weeks they start to open their eyes and soon after begin their and . We take them outside, and gently introduce them to new sights, smells and noises that adapt them to the training environment and humans.

Support our pups first steps to becoming : https://bit.ly/3F0tafw

A HeroRAT can screen 100 samples in 20 minutes. A lab technician would need up to four days. Same goal, a fraction of th...
10/11/2026

A HeroRAT can screen 100 samples in 20 minutes. A lab technician would need up to four days. Same goal, a fraction of the time, and patients can access the treatment they need.

TB is curable, but only if it’s found. Trained African giant pouched rats like Tamasha, re-screen samples that clinics have marked negative, which means patients who would have gone home undiagnosed, continuing to spread TB to their loved ones. APOPO's TB detection rats help raise case detection rates by 48%.

https://apopo.org/adopt/tamasha

All eight of APOPO Angola's mine detection rats have passed their national accreditation with flying colors, and are cle...
10/10/2026

All eight of APOPO Angola's mine detection rats have passed their national accreditation with flying colors, and are cleared to work on Angola's minefields for another year.

Over two days, each rat was tested twice on a 10 by 20 meter box holding zero to three targets. Angolan National Mine Action Agency (ANAM) technicians placed the targets, which were unknown to the APOPO team. Four ANAM officials oversaw the assessment. Two had never seen the rats at work before, and they were impressed by how quickly the rats cover the ground compared to manual deminers.

10/09/2026

'Tis the best day of the week! 🐭

Happy from HeroRAT Bryden and trainer Mramba in .

May the sun shine warm on your face this weekend! ☀️

Muratpaşa Mayor Ümit Uysal recently visited APOPO's Search and Rescue Research Center in Antalya, where he learned about...
10/08/2026

Muratpaşa Mayor Ümit Uysal recently visited APOPO's Search and Rescue Research Center in Antalya, where he learned about the progress of the RescueRAT project and watched a live demonstration.

RescueRAT Daniel successfully located a mock survivor in simulated rubble.

The RescueRATs are learning to navigate rubble, locate survivors by scent, and safely return to their handlers on command. Through this research, APOPO is exploring how HeroRATs could one day provide an additional tool for search and rescue teams following disasters.

The results so far are encouraging, and training and evaluation continues as the project progresses.

https://bit.ly/3Vx6jRi

APOPO Azerbaijan's Mine detection Rat (MDR) team has successfully been accredited! 🇦🇿After a period of training, the tea...
10/07/2026

APOPO Azerbaijan's Mine detection Rat (MDR) team has successfully been accredited! 🇦🇿

After a period of training, the team's 11 rats and 6 handlers, passed accreditation by the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action, (ANAMA) last week.

The MDR team has since been deployed to the liberated areas of the Karabakh region, working to clear landmines and explosive remnants of war near Khanabad village, with an expected productivity of 8 to 9 hectares per month.

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Washington D.C., DC
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