The Codex Trust Fund Secretariat in collaboration with the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa (CCAFRICA) and the FAO and WHO Regional Offices for Africa held a highly engaging webinar on 5 July 2021 with a focus on the use of the FAO/WHO Diagnostic Tool for assessing status of National Codex Programmes. The Tool is key to determining strengths and weaknesses at country level and the results help identify areas for capacity development. Over 50 participants attended online both from CCAFRICA and beyond.

The main objectives of the session were to guide participants through the content and methodology of the FAO/WHO Diagnostic Tool, provide deeper insights on how the tool is intended to be used, sharing lessons learned as well as hear about developments within the FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund (CTF). The webinar provided an opportunity for countries implementing ongoing CTF projects including Ghana and Senegal to share their experience in using the tool - an essential pre-requisite when applying to the fund - and motivate other countries who are yet to do so.

The webinar was timely as the next round of applications for CTF will open on 1 September 2021 with a deadline for submission on 17 December 2021 and up to 23 Countries from the CCAFRICA region are eligible for support. A total of 54 countries from all the Codex regions are eligible for support.

A representative of the Codex Secretariat encouraged Member States in the CCFARICA region to fully utilise the available support to enhance capacity of national Codex systems in order to better engage in the international standards setting activities.

The CCAFRICA Coordinator underscored the importance of engaging in the process in order to take advantage of the support provided through the CTF framework that will go a long way in building strong, solid and sustainable national capacity to engage in Codex.

Representatives of the FAO and WHO Regional Offices for Africa reiterated the importance of continued capacity development activities in the region and committed to support member countries while preparing applications to the trust fund.

A call was made to all eligible countries by the CTF Secretariat to start the application for support early in order to ensure effective consultations and engagements at national level are undertaken. Representatives from CTF Donor Countries further encouraged the CCAFRICA region to continue strengthening national systems in order to influence outcomes at the Codex level.

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More information about the Codex Trust Fund can be obtained on: https://www.who.int/initiatives/codex-trust-fund