Nairobi, Kenya, 23 April 2024: COMESA is currently hosting a stakeholders’ workshop on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures from 22-30 April 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. Attended by sector specialists from COMESA Member States, its objective is to revise the COMESA Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Regulations, SPS Strategy, and develop Implementation Plans for the Food Safety, Plant Health, and Animal Health Technical Working Group (TWGs).

This initiative aligns with the COMESA Treaty, which requires Member States to cooperate in promoting agricultural exports in the region by coordinating and harmonizing agricultural policies and regulations.

COMESA SPS Regulations were developed in 2009, with a focus on the harmonization of SPS policies and measures to facilitate trade in the region and beyond. However, these regulations have been facing difficulties in terms of implementation due to several factors, including lack of technical capacity.

Moreover, with the passage of time, several developments have taken place, such as the African Continental frameworks on trade and SPS  and new challenges have emerged hence the need to revise these tools to reflect new developments, address new challenges and align them with the continental SPS framework and strategies as well as the AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Goods.

COMESA Assistant Secretary General in charge of Programmes, Dr Mohamed Kadah, opened the forum with a call to the SPS Experts to ensure that the  intervention in the Strategy are all inclusive and further, consider the establishment of the SPS Agency to deal with SPS issues holistically. Further, he urged the experts to address packaging and labeling in the Regulations to have a harmonized approach in the region.