The African Food Regulatory Authorities Forum (AFRAF), comprising heads of food safety and regulatory agencies from 37 AU Member States, held its maiden forum from 11-13 October 2023 in Cairo, Egypt, under the aegis of the Africa Union Commission (AUC) and the National Food Safety Agency (NFSA) of Egypt as part of efforts by the Commission to improve food safety in the continent.
The AUC has been leading efforts to improve food safety on the continent following reports that out of the 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses and 420,000 related deaths recorded annually worldwide, Africa is the worst affected, with 91 million illnesses and 137,000 deaths each year.
Consequently, AUC is implementing some initiatives to address the food safety situation in the continent. These include the proposal to establish an Africa Food Safety Agency, which was endorsed by the Executive Council in 2019, the development of an Africa Food Safety Strategy, the Africa Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Strategy, and the formation of the Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) tasked with addressing aflatoxin contamination, which is a significant challenge to food safety milieu in the continent.
AFRAF is, therefore, one of such initiatives being considered by the AUC to help improve food safety by providing a platform for African food regulators to discuss opportunities, collaborate, and protect consumers across the continent.
The meeting of AFRAF, hosted by the National Food Safety Authority of Egypt (NFSA), was also attended by major stakeholders such as the Regional Economic Communities and international partners, including the USDA, UNIDO, FAO, WHO, WTO, WFP and the University of Laval, whose contributions were vital to making the meeting successful.
H.E. Amb. Josefa Sacko, the AUC Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (ARBE), addressing the opening ceremony of the meeting, stated that over the past few years, the commission has made it a priority to bring food safety agenda to the forefront of continental and global policy discourse, as well as implementation priorities.
She explained that that accounted for why the AUC hosted the First FAO/WHO/AU International Conference on Food Safety, held at the AUC Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 12-13 February 2019, which helped to prioritise food safety within Africa and globally agenda.
H.E. Amb. Josefa Sacko expressed optimism that the AFRAF would transform food regulation in Africa by setting a course for future collaborative action in Africa and globally to address food safety concerns.
In a speech to formally open the meeting, Dr Tareq El-Houby, Board Chairman of NFSA, expressed hope that AFRAF's maiden meeting would help establish a foundation for food safety in Africa.
Mr. Ali Badarneh, the Chief of the Food Security and Food Systems Unit at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), emphasised the need for non-traditional methods to tackle food safety issues. He also urged Development Partners and UN agencies to adopt a coordinated approach in supporting Africa to reform its food safety system.
Dr Eva Al-Zein, WHO Representative, highlights the need for modern food safety regulation and management systems to combat the public health impact of unsafe food consumption.
Mr. AbdulHakim Elwaer, Assistant Director General and Regional Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), praised the AUC for collaborating with other stakeholders, such as FAO and WHO, to enhance food safety measures in the continent. He commended the joint AUC/FAO food control assessments conducted in several African countries.
Dr. José Emilio Esteban, the Undersecretary for Food Safety at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), stressed the importance of three key principles that could significantly improve food safety in the region. These principles are innovation - establishing standards that can pave the way for the future; science - establishing regulations based on scientific evidence; and transparency - ensuring that data is collected and interpreted transparently.
At the end of the meeting, the participants agreed on a Charter that would govern the membership and operations of the AFRAF to promote effective food regulatory cooperation among stakeholders in Africa and complement SPS coordination efforts across the continent.
It was also agreed that AFRAF would commit to the following :
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Serve as a forum for information exchange, experience sharing, and collaboration among food authorities of African Union member states.
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Develop collaborative initiatives to harmonise African food regulations and integrate the food and agri-food sector under AfCFTA to address common challenges.
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Support the delivery of the Food Safety Strategy for Africa (FSSA) 2022-2036 by facilitating a science-based and efficient food regulatory environment.
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Act as the General Assembly of the soon-to-be-operationalized African Food Safety Agency (AFSA).
For further information, please contact
Dr. Amare Ayalew, Program Manager, PACA-DARBE, AUC .Email:Amarea@africa-union.org
For media inquiries, please contact:
Ibrahim Gariba | Senior Communication Officer-PACA | Information and Communication Directorate
African Union Commission | E-mail: Garibai@africa-union.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Mr. Molalet Tsedeke | Information and Communication Directorate; African Union Commission | E-mail: molalett@africa-union.org | Tel: +251 11 518 2014| Mobile/WhatsApp: +251-911-630-631
Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org I
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