MEDIA ADVISORY

Continental SPS Committee for Africa and the AUC- SPS Cluster Meeting

INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

What: The Meeting of the Continental Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Committee
for Africa and the AUC- SPS Cluster Meeting

When: 27th – 30th October 2015

Where: Munyonyo Resort, Kampala, Uganda

Objectives: The main aim of the Continental- SPS Committee is to support the implementation of Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) through ensuring the coordination of SPS matters. The specific task of the Continental SPS Committee would be to mainstream SPS issues (food safety, plant and animal health)into CAADP implementation and other Agriculture, Trade-related, and environmental initiatives within its Results Framework.
The meeting of the Continental SPS Committee scheduled for October 28-30 2015 in Kampala, Uganda aims to attain the following objectives:
a. Review implementation of the AUC- SPS activities
b. Review activities of the Continental SPS Committee
c. Agree on the modus operandi of the Continental SPS Committee including the rules and procedures governing its work.
Participants: The participants will be the AUC- SPS Cluster members, NEPAD and representative of RECs and relevant organizations on the Continental SPS Committee.
Background: The African Union Commission recognizes that addressing Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) matters is critical in boosting intra Africa and economic growth as articulated under pillar two and three of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the recent 2014 Malabo Declaration. It is in this context that the AUC and the NEPAD established a Continental SPS Committee through a consultative process at the recommendation of the 7th CAADP Partnership Platform meeting held in Yaounde, Cameroun in March 2011.The Continental SPS Committee is constituted of (full members and observers) Regional Economic Communities and relevant partners and institutions active in areas of SPS. At the Commission level, there is the AUC SPS cluster constituted of members from the Departments of Trade and Industry, Social Affairs and Rural Economy. The AUC SPS Cluster serves as the secretariat to the continental SPS Committee.

For more information on the SPS Meetings contact:

Ms. Diana Oyena Akullo
Policy Officer - Crop Production
Rural Economy and Agriculture Department, AUC
Email: AkulloD@africa-union.org

For media enquiries/interview requests, contact:
Mr. Samuel Onyenobia
CAADP Communications Consultant, AUC
Email: samuelonyenobia@gmail.com

Mr. Molalet Tsedeke
Directorate of Information and Communication, AUC
Molalett@africa-union.org

For further information contact
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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