Strategic Priorities for an Aflatoxin-free Africa

1. Strategic Priorities for an
Aflatoxin-free Africa
CTA Cross-Learning Workshop and Writeshop
Informing Food and Nutrition Security Policy and
Practice: Strengthening the Agriculture-Nutrition Nexus
and Improving Outcomes
21-25 September, 2015
Novotel Hotel, Dakar, Senegal
PACA Secretariat

2.  Aflatoxins: impacts and contributing factors
 PACA: birth, strategy for aflatoxin control in Africa
-- PACA Activities and the Malabo Declaration
-- Aligning PACA Activities to the CAADP Framework
 The three-tier Government Involvement Strategy
 Summary
Outline

3. Aflatoxin is a developmental challenge to
Africa, adversely affecting three sectors:
Public
health
Food and
nutrition
security
Trade and
economy
 The most toxic and
carcinogenic of 300–400
naturally occurring fungal
metabolites
 Produced by some
strains of Aspergillus
flavus and related
species
 Highly stable
compounds, withstand
normal food/feed
processing procedures
Aflatoxins: impact and factors

4. Public Health Impacts
 Directly linked to exposures
Photo credit: Dr. Lamine Senghor
Photo credit: Dr. Benedikt Warth
Photo credit: 2013 CLC Training Week
Photo credit: 2013 CLC Training Week
Acute
Immune system
suppression
Chronic effects
Hepatic carcinoma
Stunting and underweight in
children
4.5 billion people are chronically
exposed (WHO, 2004)
Difficultyofdetection
increases
Symptomsofillness
Kenya case study:
1981, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2014
41.5% case fatality

5. Trade Impacts
‘Pyramids’ of bags of groundnut ready for export in
the 1970’s, West Africa; an industry that succumbed
to aflatoxin contamination
Africa loses $450-670
million annually in
lost export trade

6. Weak institutional
capacity: policy,
regulations, putting
research into use
Factors Contributing to the Aflatoxin
Challenge in Africa
Poorly
coordinated
responses
Conducive climatic
conditions
Traditional crop
production and
post-harvest
practices
Food insecurity
and limited
dietary diversity
Low awareness levels
Complex problem;
difficulty targeting
interventions

7. Aflatoxin management calls for ‘a bag of
tricks’(integrated, valid options) to address
this complex problem
Photo credit: merchant-medieval.com

8.  PACA is an attempt to
advocate for, share
knowledge, and
catalyze coordinated
aflatoxin control
efforts on the
continent

9. PACA Genesis and Progress
20142013201220112010
 Consultation on an
African response to the
aflatoxin challenge –
2012 (at the 7th CAADP PP in
Yaounde Cameroon)
 Birth of the partnership
platform – 2012 (PACA
Secretariat functional at AUC and
MoU between AUC and Meridian
signed in September 2012
 Official launch and
AUC leadership – 31st
October 2012 (launch of
PACA at joint Ministerial
Meeting of Ministers of
Agriculture and Ministers
of Trade)
 Strategy development and
stakeholder engagement –
April 2013 (at Dar es Salaam where
PACA 10 year strategy was
developed in a consultative
workshop)
 Country activities
Kick-off – March 2014
(at 10th CAADP PP in
Durban, South Africa,
PACA selection process
presented at side
meeting; PACA-RECs-
NEPAD consultation to
select 5 pilot countries)

10. PACA’s strategic thematic areas (STAs) and key result areas (KRAs)
Research and
Development
Policies,
legislation, and
standards
Trade and
health
Enhancing
capacity
Public
awareness,
advocacy, and
communication
 KRA 1.1: Generating information and evidences
 KRA 1.2: Facilitating technology adaptation and adoption
 KRA 1.3: Developing new technologies and knowledge
 KRA 1.4: Enhancing access to research facilities
 KRA 2.1: Enhancing policy analysis and formulation
 KRA 2.2: Facilitating policy advocacy
 KRA 2.3: Promoting standards and regulations
 KRA 3.1: Facilitating growth in trade and commerce in priority aflatoxin-prone
commodities
 KRA 3.2: Creating incentives that encourage positive behaviors with respect to
aflatoxin management
 KRA 5.1: Increasing public awareness, information sharing and knowledge
 KRA 5.2: Improving policy and political will through targeted communication
 KRA 4.1: Risk assessment to inform decision making
 KRA 4.2: Competency and infrastructure for aflatoxin testing
 KRA 4.3: Improving capacity of value chain actors, civil society organizations
and health practitioners

11. Strategic Action Area 1b of the ISR of Malabo declaration : Market infrastructure,
regional trade and integration, and value chains development
“Harmonize trade regimes, measures and standards, and remove non-tariff barriers
(NTBs) within and across regional trade blocks (RECs), and domesticate and implement
regional and continental trade agreements at national level”
PACA Activities and the Malabo Declaration:
Commitment # 5: To Boosting Intra-African Trade in Agricultural
Commodities & Services

12. • HOW IS PACA’S CONTRIBUTION BEING TO BE MADE ?
– 5 key actions :
• Narrow the gap in SPS capacity: Employ aflatoxin control as an entry
point to build food control systems
• Support “universal” food safety standards (regarding access to
international market)
• Promote alignment and collaboration across countries (Organize
Continental and Inter-Regional convenings to share new developments and best
practices)
• Knowledge Management: PACA’s AfricaAIMS targets harmonized data
collection and making credible information available
• Mutual Accountability – through annual readouts and regular reporting
Linking PACA Activities to CAADP

13. The PACA Secretariat’s mission is to improve the effectiveness and
efficiency of governments to tackle the aflatoxin challenge in Africa
Rationale 1: Governments
have wide sphere of
influence: they can enact
policies and launch initiatives
that change behaviors and
set priorities for all other
stakeholders
Rationale 2: Despite
governments’ wide sphere of
influence, there are few
actors currently focused on
supporting governments set
a cohesive agenda for
aflatoxin control
Rationale 3: The Secretariat can directly support governments and forge
strong partnerships with other aflatoxin control stakeholders

14. Comparative Advantages of the PACA
Secretariat
Advantages of being an African Union-Based
Organization
1. Access to high-level
government stakeholders
2. Authority to convene
high-level REC and
government stakeholders
3. Authority to set agenda
for stakeholder
conventions
4. Support from a large,
diverse multi-stakeholder
community
5. Ability to leverage the
established CAADP
framework to set
priorities
6. Neutral, unbiased third
party image
7. Esteemed, high-quality
brand

15. – Continental
– Regional
– Country
Three-Tier Government
Involvement

16. Continental-level Activities:
 Identify, document, and disseminate best practices and
effective technologies to mitigate the harmful effects of
aflatoxin
 Serve as a technical knowledge hub for all aflatoxin research
documents
 Monitor aflatoxin control outcomes across the continent
Knowledge Management
Secretariat’s
Continental
Activities
 Convene biennial PACA
Partnership Platform meeting;
work with RECs to organize
additional inter-regional
meetings; promote alignment;
share new developments and
best practices; resolve specific
challenges / bottlenecks across
countries and regions
Continental & Inter-Regional
Convenings
Aflatoxin Mainstreaming into
Continental Frameworks
 Meet and communicate with
CAADP, CODEX, and other
continent-wide frameworks
 Ensure consistency and
congruency between
continental and regional
frameworks and country plans

17. Regional-level Activities:
EAC and COMESA
COMESA
EAC and SADC
ECOWAS
COMESA and SADC
SADC
COMESA, SADC, and ECCAS
ECCAS
SADC and ECCAS
Regional Economic Communities1
 Collaborate to define the country plan
approach across pilot countries
 Collaborate to support the development
and monitoring of country plans
 Responsible for ensuring consistency
and congruency between country plans
and ongoing REC activities, as well as
REC policies and frameworks
 The Secretariat will provide grants to fill
government capacity needs identified in
country plans, while RECs will supervise
and manage the implementation of all
capacity support efforts and take over
the financial and implementation
responsibility
REC Engagement and Support

18. Collaboration with RECs in three areas
Thus, the Secretariat
will:
 Ensure that
Secretariat
activities are
aligned to RECs’
aflatoxin priorities
and activities
 Collaborate and
provide financial
support for the
regional aflatoxin
convenings
 Provide technical
support for ongoing
REC activities
 Support RECs’
capacity to
independently own
country plan
execution long-term
Organize regional convenings to promote the
execution of country plans and REC priorities
Regional
Convenings
Harmonize regulatory frameworks and prioritize
aflatoxin control efforts through regional
frameworks
Harmonization
of Regulatory
Frameworks
Jointly own and advise design and execution of all
steps in the country planning approach
RECs will guide and advise governments the
implementation of the country plan
The Secretariat will support RECs by providing
grants to countries for gov’t capacity support
Country
Planning &
Execution

19. Country-level Activities:
Prepare Country Plans: Year 1 Execute Country Plans: Year 2 - 5
Stage 1: Gather
evidence to
inform plan
Stage 2: Validate
& finalize
country plan
Stage 3: Support
gov’t capacity to
implement plan
Stage 4:
Monitor
progress and
advocate
The Secretariat will enhance government
capacity to implement the plan and
monitor progress, but will not implement
or fund country plan activities. However,
it will support resource mobilization
strategy and plan
Pilot countries:
Gambia,
Malawi,
Nigeria,
Senegal,
Tanzania,
Uganda,

20. Phased Approach to Scale Country Level
Activities
Phase 1: Design Country Planning Approach
Phase 2: Pilot the Country Plans
Phase 3: Review Progress
1
2
3
4
Phase 4: Scale to a Continental Level

21. Pilot Country Activities:
1. Establish Africa Aflatoxin
Information Management
System (AfricaAIMS)
2. Support Country-led food
safety and aflatoxin
Situation Analysis and
Action Planning (C-SAAP)
3. Validation of national
aflatoxin control plans and
mainstreaming through
CAADP NAFSIPs and other
frameworks
The August 2013 Steering
Committee Meeting approved
country activities

22. Advocacy and Communication:
• PACA policy briefs:
• PACA Newsletters,
Vol. 3 Issue 1 & 2
• PACA website

23. UN Agencies
PACA is overseen by a multi-stakeholder steering committee
that provides overall leadership and drives the strategic
direction of PACA

24.  Aflatoxin is a developmental challenge to
Africa
 Moral reason and economic and social
imperative to mitigate the aflatoxin problem
 Partnership, multi-sectoral and integrated
approach is key to deal with the complex
problem of aflatoxin contamination
 Phased approach, coherent strategies and
evidence-based plans, and accountability
and measuring progress are vital for greater
impact
Summary

25. Let’s continue to work together
for “An Africa Free From the
Harmful Effects of Aflatoxin!”
Photo credit: Dr. Lamine Senghor