The SALT-Tz meeting was held in Arusha, Tanzania, on 14th -16th February 2023, with 115 participants attending from 18 different countries. The meeting brought researchers active in AAT research together with relevant stakeholders from AAT-affected countries, pharmaceutical companies and funders, to stimulate discussions and collaborations, and to work towards identifying how to optimally deploy new innovations.

The meeting was funded through contributions from the University of Glasgow, BBSRC, the Roslin Institute, the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Parasitology, the International Veterinary Vaccinology Network, the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics & Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Animal African Trypanosomiasis (AAT) is a major constraint on livestock health in sub-Saharan Africa. With no vaccine, trypanocidal drugs are the mainstay of control. Recently there have been step change advances towards more effective AAT control, through research on treatment failure, drug resistance and quality of trypanocidal drugs, development of new trypanocides and modelling new control scenarios. There have also been advances that facilitate studying the disease-relevant parasites, and findings that show significant promise for improving the spectrum of tools to diagnose, treat or prevent AAT. However, there is often a gulf between research and the uptake of innovations in the field.

The SALT-Tz meeting aimed to address this through the following objectives:

• Increase linkages between researchers and the officials planning and implementing disease control, to better understand policy needs and to maximize the impact of emerging research.
• Stimulate collaborations between laboratory and operational research with disease control in the field, and between laboratory researchers (particularly North-South collaborations).
• Promote discussion around sustainable effective trypanocide use by providing a forum for stakeholders from all sectors to engage.
• Support the development of international guidelines to promote appropriate usage of trypanocides and to curb the spread of drug resistance.