East African countries commit to entrench food safety at national and regional level
Kampala - Addressing food safety is vital to protect the health of consumers as well as creating trade opportunities. However, several African countries do not have the adequate and effective infrastructure to control food safety and standards. This is attributed to low awareness on the importance of food safety and its standards among high-level policy and decision-makers.
To address this gap, the six countries of the East African Community (EAC) held a two-day high-level Ministerial meeting in Uganda (23 – 24 March 2017). The Ministers and other senior government officials attending the meeting agreed to build on the momentum created during the two days of interactions and ensure that lessons learned would be transferred and applied. Additionally, they pledged commitment (including financial resources) to food safety and Codex at National and sub-Regional level.
The Minister of State for Health in Uganda, Hon. Sarah Achieng Opendi, said the two-day meeting was vital for participants to “network and share cutting-edge approaches to food safety to ensure the health and safety of the consumers and as well as to enhance local, regional and international trade in food commodities.” The State Minister added that such meetings were important to enable EAC member states to develop strategies for improving hygiene status for the benefit of their citizens.
FAO and the Government of Switzerland co-financed the meeting hosted by the Government of Uganda. The meeting aimed at strengthening the understanding of food safety, and how this could lead to improved market access. Delegates to the meeting included Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Codex Focal Points from the six EAC countries namely; Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and the host country, Uganda. Other delegates from other regions, FAO headquarters and Codex Alimentarius Commission attended the meeting.
Africa, worst affected
Africa bears the highest burden of foodborne diseases with up to 91 million people falling ill, and as many as 137 000 people dying annually. This figure represents a third of the global fatalities from unsafe food. Trends affecting food safety include globalised trade of food products, changes in agriculture and food industry, changing lifestyles, climate change and anti-microbial resistance.
Ambassador Thomas Jemmi, Deputy Director-General Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, Switzerland underlined the importance of safe food. “Ensuring the safety and quality of food in Africa is an enormous challenge. Africa has the highest incidence of foodborne diseases and the highest death rates among all ages, including children under five globally. These alarming figures should prompt us to double our efforts to ensure that all stakeholders along the entire food chain, from primary producers to consumers play an active role to ensure food safety”.
FAO Subregional Coordinator for Eastern Africa, Patrick Kormawa, said the globalization of food trade requires that food products traded on both domestic and international markets must meet strict food safety and quality standards. “By meeting international safety and quality standards, African countries can also increase their foreign earnings by exporting food products.” He however, decried many challenges impeding improvement of food safety in the subregion, despite recognition of the importance of developing practical actions and recommendations for capacity building to overcome them.
The Ministers and Permanent Secretaries agreed to making food safety a priority in their national development agenda, including briefing their respective Cabinet on the outcome of the meeting. In following, they will organize a national workshop for the major stakeholders to provide feedback on the results of the meeting as a way of raising awareness.
At the sub-regional level, the delegates agreed to assure and secure budgets for sub-regional and national activities on food safety and implementation of Codex standards. Furthermore, they agreed to work towards harmonization of national food safety laws and regulations with Codex texts and standards.
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