Results Updates on AfricaAIMS and C-SAAP,February 2016

Abstract

Country-focused activities that target the engagement and increased efficiency of African governments to tackle the aflatoxin menace on the continent are priority for the PACA Secretariat. The Africa Aflatoxin Information Management System (AfricaAIMS) and Countryled Aflatoxin and Food Safety Situation Analysis are two examples of such activities. On a general note, both activities aim at providing accurate, comprehensive and reliable evidencebased information required to facilitate informed decisions on policies, regulations, standards, interventions (e.g. educational and technological), resource allocation, advocacy and awareness creation by the country governments and stakeholders. PACA initiated the evidence generation mechanisms/activities by providing countries with support for capacity building in the areas of aflatoxin research in order to provide: (a) baseline information and (b) year-to-year surveillance and monitoring data for aflatoxin contamination of key staple crops in the countries, (c) aflatoxin-relation information from the health and trade sectors. In addition, the health and economic impacts of aflatoxins on the countries are being x-rayed and quantified and priority actions involving existing technologies or newly developed scalable technologies for combating the aflatoxin problem are drafted. The AfricaAIMS activities and preliminary results from the Country-led Aflatoxin and Food Safety Situation Analysis are highlighted in this report: