The French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD)

The French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD)

Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development) is an internationally-recognised multidisciplinary organisation, working mainly in partnership with countries in the Mediterranean and intertropical zone.
IRD is a French public research establishment operating under the joint authority of the French Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. It takes an original approach to research, expertise, training and knowledge-sharing for the benefit of countries and regions, making science and innovation key drivers in their development.

IRD researchers in Zimbabwe mainly work in health science. They study animal and zoonotic diseases (transmitted from animals to humans) and the environmental, sanitary and social factors leading to their emergence. Their main objective is to understand how climate change affects the interactions among wildlife, livestock and humans and what the consequences are for infectious diseases. Other projects aim to strengthen Zimbabwe’s material and human capacities to better cope with diseases affecting wildlife and livestock.

Dr. Florian LIÉGEOIS, virologist, has been assigned to Harare since September 2020. He is also the IRD representative in the country.
IRD’s main partners in Zimbabwe are CIRAD, the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Ministry of Agriculture.

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