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
CCAFRICA24 / standards can improve food safety and competitiveness across Africa
The FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa opened virtually from Kampala, Uganda on Monday 5 September 2022. In opening remarks, Hon. Ms. Harriet Ntabazi, State Minister for Trade, Uganda, called for harmonization of food safety standards across the continent. “If we merge as Africa and talk one language, if we concretize our standards together then the level of competitiveness as a continent will grow … in other markets.”
Hon. Mrs. Margaret Muhanga Mugisha, State Minister for Primary Health Care, welcomed nearly 200 delegates to the session on behalf of the Government of Uganda, underlining the importance of food safety and nutrition as one of the critical pillars for sustainable socio-economic development. “A safe food supply translates into a vibrant and healthy and productive human resource,” she said.
The keynote address was delivered by John Oppong-Otoo, Food Safety Officer with the African Union. He described for delegates the key elements of the Food Safety Strategy for Africa endorsed by the African Union in February 2022, and its goal of improving public health, food and nutrition security, sustainable livelihoods and economic growth in Africa. “Codex standards present a unique opportunity for the continent to raise food safety standards and that is exactly what Member States have committed to,” he said.
Learn more
Follow the working papers for the session on the CCAFRICA24 web pages
Leave a comment