East African Community online capacity building
The EAC region has made a commitment to transform the regional economy through value addition by promoting development of strategic regional value chains and facilitating the development of and access to appropriate skills and know how.
One of the capacity building courses that has been developed in this context is a Training of Trainers (ToT) on awareness raising for the implementation of harmonised prioritized and improved EAC customs procedures for cross-border trade and related opportunities with a special focus on perishable goods and pharmaceuticals. The purpose of this capacity building is to enable the trainers to conduct respective awareness raising events with relevant stakeholders in the field as well as to provide them with appropriate training materials.
The EAC has developed harmonised customs procedures, including for perishable goods and pharmaceuticals. A key challenge is the lack of awareness and mutual understanding between farmers, traders, agro-processors, customs officers and other border officials of regionally harmonised customs procedures and the opportunities attached to utilising them. As project funds and institutional set-up don’t allow the RIVA project to deliver this awareness raising to the target group directly, we have chosen to focus on training trainers (key focal persons), who will then conduct respective awareness raising events in the field.
The development and implementation of this online capacity building course aims at offering a blended approach, with an online TOT and subsequent field trainings, which are foreseen to be both, virtual and physical. This addresses the directive to utilise alternative approaches to capacity building. The content of the capacity building project is to address directives and guidelines aimed in facilitating trade in perishable goods and pharmaceuticals.
- Lead facilitator: Samuel Ominde
The EAC region has made a commitment to transform the regional economy through value addition by promoting development of strategic regional value chains and facilitating the development of and access to appropriate skills and know how.
One of the capacity building courses in this context is a Training of Trainers (ToT) on awareness raising for the implementation of harmonised standards for quality and safety requirements in the fruits and vegetables as well as the leather sector of the EAC. The purpose of this capacity building is to enable the trainers to conduct respective awareness raising events with relevant stakeholders in the field as well as to provide them with appropriate training material.
According to the EAC, two current challenges with the implementation of harmonised standards for the selected products need to be addressed through this initiative:
- Awareness of agro-processors, traders, standards inspectors, border officials and other relevant stakeholders about regionally harmonised standards.
- Awareness of horticultural and animal farmers, primary societies, traders and other relevant stakeholders about quality and safety requirements of the market(s).
As project funds and institutional set-up don’t allow the RIVA project to deliver this awareness raising to the target group directly, we have chosen to focus on training trainers (key focal persons), who will then conduct respective awareness raising events in the field.
A key result is to achieve an improved agricultural cross-border trade amid the COVID-19 pandemic for better livelihood of small-scale farmers and MSMEs in the EAC region through:
- Simplified procedures to enhance participation of agricultural related MSMEs in cross-border trade.
- Awareness raising on regional cross-border trade and related opportunities (e.g. use of EAC simplified certificate of origin).
- Capacity building of farmers to meet market quality and safety requirements.
- Lead facilitator: Joel Peter Oryang
An Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) is defined by the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards as a party involved in the international movement of goods, in whatever function, that has been approved by, or on behalf of, a national customs administration as complying with WCO or equivalent supply chain security standards. AEOs include inter alia manufacturers, importers, exporters, brokers, carriers, consolidators, intermediaries, ports, airports, terminal operators, integrated operators, warehouses and distributors.
The challenge is that businesses in the region are only picking up the EAC AEO Program slowly and that the vast majority of AEOs are in the field of import and export. Very few manufacturers have signed up, none of which are in the selected sectors of the RIVA project (pharmaceuticals, fruits & vegetables, leather). Therefore, the EAC Secretariat is aiming at building capacity to better utilise this program, especially by companies in the selected sectors.
In a bid to facilitate legitimate trade while safeguarding the security of the supply chain, the WCO in 2005 adopted the SAFE Framework of standards which ushered modern supply chain standards and introduced the beginning of a new approach to managing goods across borders.
The Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Program is derived from the second pillar of the SAFE Framework which emphasises that Customs should form partnerships with businesses that demonstrate a high level of compliance to customs laws and procedures which will in turn be accorded tangible benefits.
The EAC adopted and started the implementation of the AEO program in 2008 to standardise the facilitation of AEO operators across the region. As a voluntary regional program, meant to enhance facilitation of the security of the international trade supply chain the AEO program is designed to offer special package/benefits to operators. The course is therefore to designed to provide the operators with the knowledge they require to join and stay on the program.
- Lead facilitator: Martin Ojok
The East Africa Community (EAC) region currently has 3 percent of the world total bovine herd, 5 percent of the goat herd and 2 percent of the sheep herd: a good resource base for the production of hides and skins and for the development of a globally competitive leather and leather products industry. Regrettably, the region has mainly succeeded in developing primary processing for hides and skins up to wet blue leather, which is considered a raw product in international trade; and in rare cases finished leather. One of the challenges hampering the development of the leather value chain is the low quality of hides and skins and eventually leather products.
Despite the requirement to follow GMP standards for leather processing, not all actively producing these products comply with international standards and not all regulators understand international best practises when it comes to regulation of these products. In addition, the Leather Industries Associations are advocating for the development of leather industry skills, given the significant improvements in the livestock industry. Given the importance of the leather sector to the EAC region and its potential to improve livelihoods across the region this online human capacity development course introduces Good Manufacturing Practices Leather and Leather Products. The Course participants will learn about GMP requirements, including procedural, organizational and infrastructural aspects, as well as buyer requirements and the GMP inspection process. They will be able to critically analyse and implement basic GMP requirements in their daily working routine in the manufacturing and regulatory environment. The course will equip the participants with the knowledge and skills for production and regulation leather and leather products in line with national and international standards.
- Lead facilitator: Douglas Onyancha
Readily available, effective, and low-cost healthcare has become extremely important, especially in light of high population growth rates. This is true for human medicines but also for veterinary medicines. On the African continent, there is an increase in meat and milk consumption in the recent years. This is largely driven by population growth and rising incomes in developing countries. The use of veterinary medicines can result in deposition of the medicines’ residues in muscles and organs of animals. Consumption of these residues in animal products may pose health risk to consumers including development of antibiotic resistance, bacteria, allergy, reproductive disorder, and hypersensitivity reaction. Therefore, safe, effective and quality-assured pharmaceutical products and their regulation, both for humans as well as for animals, are required. In principle, there are no differences in quality requirements for veterinary and human medicinal products (with some exceptions).
Currently, challenges persist in the East African Community in the areas of product development, regulation, quality assurance, safe manufacturing, standards, among others – for human as well as veterinary medicines.
Despite the requirement to follow GMP standards for production of human and veterinary medicines, not all actively producing these products comply with international GMP standards and not all regulators understand international best practises when it comes to regulation of these products. Given the importance of the pharmaceutical sector to the EAC region and its potential to improve public health and promote economic development this online human capacity development course introduces Good Manufacturing Practices for medicines and healthcare products, including veterinary medicines. The course focuses on World Health Organization (WHO) GMP standards and requirements and other major GMPs such as EU GMP. The course participants will learn about GMP requirements, including procedural, organisational and infrastructural aspects, as well as about the GMP inspection process. They will be able to critically analyse and implement basic GMP requirements in their daily working routine in the manufacturing and regulatory environment. In the end, these capacity building measures will make participants from local manufacturers and national regulatory authorities better equipped for production and regulation of quality assured (veterinary) medicines in line with national and international standards and this is set to improve the sector.
- Lead facilitator: Christina Foerg-Wimmer
