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
East African Community / Generating regional positions in preparation for Codex meetings
Hakim Mufumbiro
Codex Regional Coordinator for Africa
Partner States in the EAC - East African Community (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) took part from 24 to 27 August 2021 in the 3rd extraordinary meeting of the EAC Codex Forum to specifically generate regional common positions in preparation to effectively participate in the 52nd Codex Committee on Food Additives, the 46th Codex Committee on Food Labelling and the 27th Codex Committee on Fats and Oils which are among the priority committees in the region.
The EAC Codex Forum is mandated to coordinate Food Safety and Codex issues in the region focussing on raising the profile of food safety and quality as well as Codex issues at the policy level and enhancing effective participation of the EAC in Codex work.
Up to 60 stakeholders drawn from government, research and academia, private sector and consumer associations as well as the EAC Secretariat participated in the three-day meeting that was also facilitated by the African Union – InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) through the EU-EAC Market Access and Upgrade Programme (MARKUP).
The regional meeting was extremely successful and resulted in generation of three EAC Conference Room Documents covering agreed common positions and which guide delegates in the region while making interventions at the different plenary Codex Committees of interest. The regional position also helps increase the visibility of the EAC Secretariat as an observer in Codex.
It is important, not to only to participate but to effectively participate in Codex activities and have the ability to significantly contribute to the discussions and ultimately impact and influence the outcomes. The representatives of the six Partner States committed to continue with engagement of key stakeholders at national level to foster participation in Codex work and ultimately enhance the use and application of Codex standards in driving regional and international trade of safe food products while protecting the health and safety of the consumers.
Through the established EAC Codex Forum, there will be continued building of a pool of stakeholders who are able to follow and effectively participate in the work of Codex.
Learn more
FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa
Main photo
Delegates in Uganda (left) and Tanzania attending meeting
Leave a comment