World Food Safety Day 2024: Bridging gaps in Africa’s informal sector webinar
11 July 2024
The Africa Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and the African Union Commission’s Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA), in collaboration with the Food Safety for Africa (FS4Africa) and UP-RISE projects funded by the European Union, organised the webinar entitled Bridging gaps in Africa’s informal sector to celebrate the World Food Safety Day 2024. Understanding and addressing food safety concerns in the informal market is crucial for safeguarding public health and promoting sustainable development.
Food safety issues pose a significant threat to human health, trade, and development. According to the World Health organization, each year, over 600 million people get sick from food-borne disease and around 420.000 die of the same.
In Africa, the majority of the population (roughly 70%) source their food from the domestic informal food markets. It is thus important to better understand the limitations and opportunities of the informal sector, beyond what seems obvious, for markedly raising food safety levels in the region. The informal sector, as an important player in food supply of most African countries, cannot be left outside the regulatory scheme of countries in order to create level playing field for food business operators and enhance growth of agri-food business.