By Lusubilo Witson Mwamakamba (WHO AFRO), Sansan Kambire (FAO RAF) and Hakim Mufumbiro (CCAFRICA)

The world in general, and Africa in particular, has shown enthusiasm and exceptional mobilization to commemorate World Food Safety Day around the theme “Preparing for the unexpected". This year once again the Regional Office for Africa of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAORAF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the African Union-InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the FAO/WHO Codex Coordinating Committee for Africa (CCAFRICA) jointly organized a webinar on 14 June 2024. The webinar, that brought together stakeholders from the food sector across the continent, offered an opportunity to raise awareness and share knowledge and best practices on enhancing preparedness and effective response to food safety emergencies.  

“Effective food control systems are key not only to safeguarding the health and well-being of our people but also to fostering economic development and improving livelihoods by promoting access to domestic, regional and international markets”, said Hakim Mufumbiro of CCAFRICA. He reiterated the importance of preparedness, rapid exchange of information and the elaboration and implementation of food safety management plans. Further emphasizing the importance of information exchange, Dr. Adelheid Onyango, Director of the Healthier Populations Cluster at WHOAFRO stated, “countries must learn from one another through shared experience and best practices in Food Safety management”. Acknowledging the shared responsibility of food safety, she mentioned that “being ready to manage food safety incidents rests not only on governments but also the active engagement of food business operators and consumers”.      

Dr Huyam Salih, Director of AU-IBAR stressed in a video message the need for adopting preventive approaches, the elaboration of food safety emergency response plans, the establishment of early warning systems, and the application of evidence-based measures. Similarly, Dr Mphumuzi Sukati, Senior Food and Nutrition Officer at FAORAF noted the importance of developing plans to strengthening national food control systems, increasing surveillance and coordination capacity, and improving communication with food industry actors in the private sector. Ms Rainatou Baillet, the Chief of Procurement, Supply Chain and Delivery at the World Food Programme, on the other hand, reiterated the importance of continental level food safety strategies to guide improvements of national food control systems to enhance preparedness and response to Food Safety events in the continent.

A keynote address was delivered by Dr Annie Locas, National Manager for Food Safety Science Services, Microbiology, Science Branch at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Quoting Sun Tzu, a military general “Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without a disaster”, Dr Locas   emphasized the importance of preparedness. In so doing, she underscored the need of firstly understanding what are we going to be potentially managing, what are we up against? And what can be done about it? In outlining what can be done, she highlighted among others the importance of simulations and exercises, learning from past experiences and the INFOSAN in forging connections and information exchange with food safety authorities in other countries.

In highlighting some of the approaches and mechanisms to enhance preparedness and response to food safety emergencies, the session moderated by Mr John Oppong-Otoo of AU-IBAR delved into the role of the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN), presented by Dr Rachelle El Khoury of the INFOSAN Secretariat, and the application of foresight approaches to food safety, presented by Dr Keya Mukherjee of FAO. There was significant and keen interest from the participants in the effective functioning of INFOSAN within the different Member States in the region as well as calls for support to apply foresight approach in the different countries.

The final session consisted of a panel discussion moderated by Dr Blaise Ouattara of FAORAF, which included Mrs Jocelyn Adeline Naa Koshie Egyakwa-Amusa fromn the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority, Mme Faye Leye Mame Diarra, of the National Codex Committee of Senegal, Dr Freda Loy Aceng, from the Ministry of Health of Uganda and Ms Penny Campbell National, Health Department South Africa. The panellists shared country experiences and perspectives in enhancing preparedness and responding to food safety emergencies.

The more than 300 webinar participants appreciated the collaborative efforts of AU-IBAR, CCAFRICA, FAO, WFP and WHO in providing a platform to share best practices and knowledge on enhancing preparedness and response capacities to food safety emergencies. Drawing from the conclusions of the webinar, preparedness was noted as key to effectively responding to food safety emergencies in the region. It was also noted that there is a need for robust national food control systems that have structured surveillance systems, national food safety response plans, and coordination across sectors and stakeholders.  

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World Food Safety Day events this year

Photo © Hakim Mufumbiro, CCAFRICA