On Monday, 10 July 2023, the launch of the Codex Alimentarius Trust Fund 2 project in Guinea-Bissau took place in the capital Bissau at the Royal Hotel from 09.00 am.

Under the leadership of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health of Guinea-Bissau, Doctor Quiletche Na Isna, the launching ceremony brought together representatives of State institutions, laboratories and representatives of the private food processing sector of the country and consumers. The Secretary General of the Ministry of Health was accompanied by the legal adviser, Doctor Baïlo Queta, representative of the Ministry in charge of Agriculture, and the Programme Officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Mr Frederico Dos Reis Mario from the FAO country office.

The Programme Officer was fully satisfied with the launch of the project in Guinea-Bissau, especially since the country had been waiting for the project start since the year 2022 during which the Guinea-Bissau project had been selected for funding by the Codex Trust Fund Secretariat. He hoped that this start will mark both a renewal and a booster for the National Codex Committee to improve its functioning and the country's participation in Codex Alimentarius activities with the full support of the government.

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Health recognized the importance of food safety in protecting the health of consumers. Acknowledging that the Codex Alimentarius as a food risk management tool which has become the global benchmark for consumer health protection and trade facilitation, he congratulated the National Codex Committee on the success to this CTF Project and recalled the need for more commitment and collaboration of stakeholders for the proper execution of this project over the next three (3) years and especially capacity building in the work of the Codex at national level to serve as a reference tool to advise the Government of Guinea Bissau on possible orientations to make food safety a reality in Guinea Bissau.

A special mention was addressed to the FAO, through the FAO regional office, for the accompaniment and advice to the National Codex Committee and which made it a reality for the successful funding from CTF to Guinea Bissau.

The launching ceremony of the Trust Fund project was animated by presentations on the project, its activities and the vision of its implementation so that all the stakeholders who are members of the National Codex Committee are at the same level of information. As a reminder, the Codex Trust Fund project in Guinea-Bissau should achieve the following outcomes:

• National Codex structures are well structured and supervised on the legal and institutional level, function better and gets all the working tools related to Codex (manual of procedures, guidelines and specific tasks, a network of experts, well-defined and functional sub-committees).
• Codex is promoted to policy makers, government and political, institutional and private actors for increased support of Codex activities and the National Codex Committee.
• The capacities of technical members and the National Codex Focal Point are strengthened for a greater commitment to Codex at the national and international level.

A technical working session was held on 11 July, 2023, between the members of the executive office of the National Codex Committee and the FAO Contact responsible for technical support and monitoring of the implementation of the project in the country. This working session made it possible to further inform the members of the National Codex Committee on the expectations in terms of project results, on the requirements for a successful implementation and on the update of the planning of activities; this will enable the country to be more efficient and effective in achieving the expected results as indicated in the project.