Summary report of West Africa and SAHEL food safety convergence meeting, 18 to 22 July 2022, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

27/07/2022

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), organized a Regional Meeting on Food Safety Regulation Convergence from 18 to 22 July 2022 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The meeting was attended by Codex Contact Point Officers, National Plant Health Protection Officers, Chief Veterinary Officers, Private Sector Representatives and other experts from fifteen ECOWAS Member States (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo); Chad and Mauritania. There was also participation of Representatives from the ECOWAS Commission, UEMOA, EAC, CILSS, CORAF, AU-IBAR, FAO, WHO, CCAFRICA, IPPC Secretariat, UMAP-GHANA, USDA/FAS, USDA/APHIS, USAID and Laval University, Canada, ACEMFS. 

The Workshop was opened by Mr. N’guettia Rene, Deputy Minister for Agriculture for Côte d'Ivoire. There were also statements from the African Union, CCAFRICA, ECOWAS, USDA, and IPPC. The meeting involved a series of presentations, group discussions and plenary discussions. Key issues discussed in the meeting included:

  1.  Update on the status of national Codex structures
  2.  Mechanism for Convergence of Food Regulatory Measures amongst Countries of the Economic Community of Western African States
  3.  Review and update of the statutes of the network of food safety actors of West Africa  

Major outcomes of the meeting were the adoption of the:

  1.  Mechanism for Convergence of Food Regulatory Measures amongst countries of ECOWAS and the Sahel
  2.  Terms of Reference for the Food Regulatory Harmonization Committee (FoRHC) and action plan for the implementation of the FoRHC
  3.  Statutes of the Network of Food Safety Actors of West Africa

The meeting thanks technical and donor partners including USDA, USAID, FAO and Laval University, Canada.

The meeting concluded with the following Recommendations

Recommendations

TO ECOWAS Commission and its partners

  • to ensure effective coordination and facilitate the operationalization of the adopted West African Food Safety Stakeholders' Network as well as the Food Regulatory Harmonization Committee (FoRHC)
  • to mobilize resources to ensure the effective implementation of the agreed action plan using an incremental approach

To Member States

  • to facilitate and ensure effective participation of relevant experts and technical resources in the work of the adopted West African Food Safety Stakeholders' Network as well as the Food Regulatory Harmonization Committee (FoRHC)

 

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Topics
CCAFRICA ECOWAS CCAFRICA Food Safety