Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) Meeting

An estimated 4.5 billion people in the developing world are chronically exposed to dangerous levels of aflatoxin through diet, which contributes to chronic health problems through compromised immune systems, stunting and liver disease as well as food insecurity through crop losses. Animals consuming contaminated feed have low productivity, while major agricultural commodities containing aflatoxin above permissible limits are often denied formal trade opportunities.

In response to the threat of aflatoxin to consumers and economies in Africa, the seventh Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program’s (CAADP) Partnership Platform (PP) underscored the need to address aflatoxin control and other SPS challenges in a holistic and integrated manner. The CAADP PP meeting “urged the AUC and the NEPAD Agency to oversee the establishment of a Continental SPS Working Group to mainstream SPS matters in the CAADP framework and establish an Africa-led Partnership for Aflatoxin Control”.

The Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) meeting will bring together a broad range of stakeholders in Africa, and provide an opportunity to contribute to the development and design of a comprehensive, Africa-owned and led partnership for the holistic management of aflatoxin across the continent to improve public health, increase trade, augment smallholder income and enhance food security. Participants will focus on establishing an interim framework for organizing and coordinating support for aflatoxin control programs and activities.

The meeting is organized under the auspices of the AU/DREA, and will be held at AU-IBAR headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya, 3 – 4 October 2011. [Source: AU-IBAR]