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
Strong One Health leadership and commitment for AMR in Nigeria
Mabel Aworh from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria reports on a week of action.
The official 'Nigeria Antibiotic Guardian Pledge' was launched at a high-level event by Senate Committee Chair on Health, Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe and Chair on Agriculture and Productivity, Abdullahi Adamu.
Speaking to the Daily Trust website, Oloriegbe committed to raising awareness among Nigerians on the dangers of using human and veterinary antibiotics indiscriminately and promised to communicate in mass-messaging to educate Nigerians. “The media needs the public to know that antibiotics as good and useful as they are, they are dangerous,” he said. “Unless we develop programmes to educate the public on the dangers, we won’t win the war.”
A series of events were held including air time on Radio Nigeria Network News where Mrs Mba Nwando, Director of Public Health Lab Services at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), discussed Antimicrobial Resistance.
Awareness walk in Abuja, Nigeria
The antibiotics awareness week began with the Awareness Walk where staff marched through the streets creating awareness and distributing flyers to those they met along the way.
As part of the walk in Abuja, a visit was paid to the livestock market to create awareness among those who traded there on the need to consult with a veterinarian before medication was given to livestock. Experts also engaged with Vets on the responsible use of antibiotics when treating livestock and other animals.
Raising awareness on AMR at livestock market in Abuja
Awareness also included talks on the importance of hand hygiene as a preventive measure.
Awareness walk in Nasarawal, Nigeria
Many other states apart from the country’s capital took part in the events on AMR including Nasarawa state where there was another awareness walk.
“So much happened this year as we celebrated world antibiotics awareness week. Many states in Nigeria were involved however I hope this is a good representation of what we did”, said Mabel.
Read more
Antimicrobial resistance. Understanding where it is and how to target it key to reducing risks
Visit the FAO WAAW website
Visit the WHO WAAW website
Try the AMR awareness activities on line
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