EatSafe Celebrates World Food Safety Day 2022 in Nigeria and Ethiopia
Every year in June, people and organizations across the globe celebrate World Food Safety Day (WFSD). Since 2020, Feed the Future’s Evidence and Action Towards Safe, Nutritious Food (EatSafe) has honored WFSD through activities and resources covering the intersection of consumer behavior, traditional markets and food safety in low- and middle-income countries. This year, with EatSafe operational in Nigeria and Ethiopia, WFSD celebrations extended to a variety of in-country events.
Nigeria
The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health, National Food Safety Management Committee (NFSMC) nominated EatSafe’s Dr. Augustine Okoruwa as a member of Nigeria’s 2022 WFSD Planning Committee. The Committee organized several events during the WFSD week, including:
Briefing and Presentations: EatSafe and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) participated in a ministerial briefing in collaboration with several Nigerian ministries, with a keynote speech by the Honorable Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire. EatSafe presented on “Improving Best Food Safety Practices in Traditional Markets” and participated in a panel discussion on the “Effects of Pesticides and Fertilizer Misuse and Benefits of Organic Farming to Food Safety.”
Training and Rally: Eleven selected market actors were trained and inaugurated as Food Safety Champions/Watchers across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Training activities were a collaboration between EatSafe and the USAID Advancing Nutrition Nigeria project. On the same day at Utako market in Abuja, EatSafe participated in a sensitization rally on food safety.
Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA) convened a workshop for WFSD in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Stakeholders from different government organizations, development partners, academia and private sectors attended, with the theme: “Stop Food Adulteration!” Genet Gebremedhin, EatSafe senior country program manager, presented on the importance of food safety in traditional markets and introduced EatSafe in Ethiopia. GAIN representatives presented on the importance of food safety and governance.
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