Codex Trust Fund / Training on Codex online tools in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is among the recipient countries of the Codex Trust Fund. The country started the implementation of its project in January 2021 and in early April 2021, the key stakeholders working with Codex related issues gathered for an inception meeting and planning session. The inception meeting was followed up with a hands-on training on mechanisms and procedures for communication with Codex. The training was held on 29 April 2021 and attended by 16 participants representing State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of Turkmenistan, Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, Center of Public health and Nutrition, Ministry of Trade and Foreign Relations, Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, State Services “Turkmenstandartlary”, Union of industrialists and entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan.
The training was organized by the WHO country office in Turkmenistan and conducted by the WHO Regional Office for Europe with technical contribution from the Regional Coordinator of the FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committee for Europe (CCEURO). The training provided an opportunity for participants to familiarize themselves with the Codex website and different Codex online tools and mechanisms for countries to use to engage in Codex work. These included the EWG Forum where participants were guided to register and access a ‘test forum’. The Online Commenting System (OCS) was also introduced. With temporary login credentials, the participants were guided to sign into the system and review a fictional draft standard. Language was highlighted as one of the main barriers for strengthening participation in Codex. Although many Codex texts are available in Russian, most online discussions and data sharing take place in English. Internal coordination and communication procedures were also mentioned as challenges for strengthening Turkmenistan’s participation in Codex.
In follow up to the training, the WHO country office in Turkmenistan will convene and facilitate on-the-job training on the various Codex online tools and assist the National Codex Contact Point to register to Codex e-mail distribution lists. It was also agreed that the online nature of Codex meetings in 2021 provides an opportunity for Turkmenistan to participate in more Codex meetings than planned. The country was strongly encouraged to select a number of priority committees and participate virtually in the next sessions.