Why the United States is supporting the Peaceful Uses Initiative (Arabic Edition)

In 1992, US scientist Edward Knipling and his colleague Raymond Bushland received the prestigious World Food Prize for their successful work in the 1950s developing the sterile insect technique (SIT), a method of controlling harmful insect pests through irradiation. In 2012, after years of study, planning and work, Senegal introduced the SIT — with support from the United States — in a coastal area of the Niayes region to eradicate the bloodsucking tsetse fly, known for killing cattle and causing human "sleeping sickness" (human African trypanosomosis). Senegal joined a growing list of countries making use of this nuclear technique. For over four decades, the SIT has been an important joint effort between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the IAEA. The SIT uses irradiation to sterilize male insects, which are then released into the wild to mate with females without producing offspring. Over time, this reduces insect populations that spread disease. The Joint FAO/IAEA Programme on Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture invests in applied research to improve the technique and supports the rollout of SIT packages to IAEA Member States.