With support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), ten African Union (AU) countries recently completed assessments of their national food control systems, culminating in a report that outlines strengths, opportunities, and strategic actions. The ten countries, which are also members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), are: Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Mauritius, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The national assessments and resulting report were conducted under the joint FAO and EU project, “Strengthening Food Control and Phytosanitary Capacities and Governance—CGP/GLO/949/EC.”. This project supports the AU’s efforts to improve and harmonize member countries’ sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures under the SPS Policy for Africa, which includes the AU Food Safety Strategy for Africa (FSSA), bringing the AU in line with international standards. The assessments and subsequent activities were carried out by the competent authorities of the participating member countries, in collaboration with FAO, the EU, and the AU Commission's Division of Rural Economy and Agriculture.

In this context, the ten countries utilized the joint FAO/ World Health Organization (WHO) Food Control System Assessment Tool for their national reviews, which was created to support national compliance with internationally recognized food safety standards. The tool comprises four main dimensions with 160 assessment criteria developed to measure system competencies, around which countries gather and analyze data. Other countries that have made use of the tool include Chile, Belize, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The assessments revealed the importance of evidence-based policymaking, harmonized capacity-building, and knowledge exchange to advance safer, more effective food systems. Recommendations emphasize fostering regional cooperation, improving coordination across stakeholders, and using assessment results to inform future technical assistance and program design.

Although the ten countries’ needs span all dimensions and competency areas assessed in the FAO/WHO tool, the areas of greatest need include:

• Inputs and resources, encompassing elements such as policy guidance; legal frameworks; and financial, human, and infrastructure capacities
• Control functions, concerning needs that affect the implementation of food control activities (e.g., risk-based approaches and categorization, monitoring plans and programs, emergency response plans, communication strategies, etc.).

The priorities articulated in the strategic plans of the ten countries align with the AU SPS Policy Framework and FSSA objectives; the report agrees that strategic implementation of these priorities will not only enhance individual national food control systems but will also contribute to the region’s broader food safety and public health goals.

Another recently completed, FAO-backed effort to improve food safety in Africa included the publication of a technical report mapping the food safety landscape across the Near East and North Africa region.