Promotion of Harmonised SPS Policies and Capabilities in Africa: Key Messages and Call to Action

Sun, 14-05-2023 15:00:00
@auibar2022

AKADEMIYA2063 and Texas A&M University, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (AUC-DARBE), and with the support of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), had organised a two-day learning event to promote harmonised sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) policies and capacities in Africa. The event drew a diverse range of state and non-state actors, including national and regional authorities.

The learning event was held on 30-31 March, 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda to support the African Union's (AU) 2023 year of accelerated African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation and to contribute to the enhancement of SPS capacities and the effective implementation of SPS policies and strategies in Africa. The event aimed to achieve three objectives: firstly, to raise awareness on AU SPS policy initiatives, SPS challenges and opportunities, and SPS tools for strengthening Africa's; secondly to strengthen the technical capacity of participants on SPS tools and the analysis of SPS investment gaps, needs, and priorities, and thirdly to share experiences, lessons learned, and best practices in implementing SPS measures, harmonization and equivalence of SPS measures, and SPS regulatory cooperation.

The participants concluded the event with a call to action to advance Africa's SPS agenda while engaging all critical stakeholders.

Read full report: http://repository.au-ibar.org/handle/123456789/1410