The CCAFRICA Region - Regional Coordinator Uganda
The ‘Coordinating Committee for Africa’ was established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1972 with a mandate to “exercise general coordination in the preparation of standards relating to the region of Africa”. The committee held its first meeting at FAO in 1974, with 19 countries in attendance.
As the new regional coordinator begins their term, the Agreement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into effect in May 2020, has reinforced the need for an efficient and effective system for managing sanitary and phytosanitary measures, in particular food safety, across the continent as its borders open for trade.
The regional coordinator is based in the Uganda National Bureau of Standards, a statutory body under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Co-operatives which oversees, as part of its mandate, the promotion and use of standards.
As regional coordinator, Uganda intends to engage closely with countries via surveys, webinars and workshops to identify needs and emerging issues, create awareness of priority food safety issues and of Codex standards. A pilot study will also explore the food safety situation in broader terms across the region. By strengthening engagement with regional bodies such as the African Union, the African Organisation for Standardisation and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Uganda also aims to enhance advocacy work in the region.
CCAFRICA Coordinator
All information on Codex is public and free.
For regional enquiries contact:
CCAFRICA Secretariat
Uganda National Bureau of Standards Plot 2 - 12, Bypass Link, Industrial
& Business park, Kyaliwajala road,
P.O Box 6329 Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256 (041) 7333250 / 0417333251 / 0417333252
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.unbs.go.ug
Understanding flows of antimicrobial resistance through the food supply chain
Actions to mitigate the potential for the food supply chain to act as a conduit from the myriad environmental sources of antimicrobial resistance to the public health problems of antimicrobial resistant infections in people generally focus on two areas. First, effective antimicrobial stewardship to reduce the use of antimicrobials in agriculture; and second, surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in pathogens in food. In the presentation of their recent research to the first side event at CCAFRICA23, Professor Alex Hughes (above) of Newcastle University, UK and Dr Emma Roe (right) of University of Southampton, UK challenged us to think more about the ‘hidden middle’ of the food supply chain in food processing, wholesale and logistics. They pointed to insights that might be generated from geography, economics and the social sciences into opportunities for impactful interventions to counter the flows of antimicrobial resistance through global food supply chains. They also urged further data sharing and collaboration, to help address these complex issues.
Alex and Emma were also able to give us a preview of their next piece of work in this area, due to start next year, which will work with colleagues from Kenya, Malawi and the UK to design approaches to antimicrobial stewardship that are sensitive to the cultural and economic contexts of poultry farming in different national settings. We look forward to hearing more!
Steve Wearne
Director of Science at UK Food Standards Agency and Vice-Chair of Codex Alimentarius Commission
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