Wednesday 27November 2024 marked a significant milestone for Somalia when the country’s first World Food Safety Day celebrations were commemorated, following an introductory exhibition for the main celebration, held on 25 November 2024 at the Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Science at the Somali National University. The broad objective of the 25 November event was to raise awareness and educate community on the importance of safe food practices to protect consumers from food safety hazards. Students showcased the best handling practices  - as well as the wrong practices  - to the community to caution against the latter and encourage the former.

On 27 November, high-level stakeholders from the public sector, civil society, academia and private industries, gathered to show their support for countrywide collaboration on food safety. In his address to the event, Mohamed Saney Dalmar, Director-General of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, emphasized the role of food safety in trade and economic development, and highlighted the government’s full commitment to strengthening food safety systems in the country to create a sustainable and resilient food safety infrastructure. He reiterated that the commitment not only safeguards public health but also positions Somalia as a competitive player in the global economy.

In his remarks Dr Mohamed Ali Kamil, Deputy WHO Representative, acknowledged WHO's role in supporting Somalia's food safety initiatives and reiterated WHO’s commitment to work together with different sectors. He emphasized the need to put in place a comprehensive food safety network and recognized that the event served as a pivotal platform for fostering collaboration among government agencies, international organizations, and the private sector. He finsihed by emphasizing the need to capitalize on the insights and partnerships established in the event.

To set the scene, the Codex contact point for Somalia, Mohamed Aden Hersi, provided an overview of the current food safety landscape in the country and the goals of the event. He urged collaboration among stakeholders—including government agencies, private sector actors, and international partners—to create a robust food safety system. He emphasized the urgent need for investment in laboratory infrastructure to support food safety testing and analysis, which are critical for detecting hazards and ensuring compliance with standards. This collective effort, he stressed, is essential to protect public health, promote trade, and build consumer confidence in Somalia’s food systems.

The Director of the Association of Somali Unviersities (ASU), Omar Ujalari, emphasized the need to incorporate food safety and quality control into educational curricula and congratulated the Somali Bureau of Standards (SOBS) on their initiatives. Ujalari highlighted the importance of embedding food safety as a cultural norm through community-targeted awareness campaigns. He advocated for collaboration between universities and SOBS, suggesting that university laboratories could support food safety testing and research. He affirmed the commitment of universities to partner with organizations like SOBS in promoting food safety initiatives.

In video messages to the event, John Oppong-Otoo, from the African Union-Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), and Hakim Mufumbiro, the CCAFRICA Regional Coordinator, both emphasized collaboration and the need to close existing gaps in food safety systems. Oppong-Otoo emphasized the broader regional food safety challenges and strategy, while Mufumbiro encouraged increased participation in Codex activities as country.

Eva Inam Kayed al Zein, from the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region Office (EMRO), discussed the challenges of foodborne diseases and outlined WHO’s Global Food Safety Strategy, which aims to reduce the global burden of foodborne diseases by 40 percent by 2030. She emphasized capacity building, evidence-based methods, and cross-sector collaboration as critical to improving national food control systems.

In his closing remarks Guled Mohamed Rashid Aden, Secretary General of SOBS, emphasized the urgent need for a comprehensive and cohesive food safety framework in Somalia. He highlighted the importance of unified efforts to safeguard public health, enhance consumer confidence, and strengthen the country’s capacity to meet international food safety standards.

The meeting concluded with the following resolutions:

• Enhance partnerships among government entities, private stakeholders, and academia.
• Develop mechanisms to protect public health and support Somalia’s trade potential.
• Conduct campaigns to foster a food safety culture nationwide.
• Actively participate in Codex Alimentarius initiatives, prioritizing key areas for Somalia.
• Continue stakeholder engagement to establish an effective and collaborative food safety framework.

This World Food Safey Day Celebration is the first held in the country and is particularly important because it lays the foundation for safer food practices in the country as well as providing opportunities for enhanced international trade. This event was funded by the WHO Country and Regional Offices.

About SOBS

The Somalia Bureau of Standards is an independent national agency, established by the Somali Standards and Quality Control Act (Lr27). It became operational in 2020. Its main roles include establishing a robust food quality infrastructure for Somalia (standards, metrology, accreditation and conformity assessment), protecting the safety of consumers from harmful and substandard products imported to Somalia, promoting export through standards harmonization, supporting standardization of local production, and affiliating to the regional and international standards-setting bodies to contribute to the efforts made in standards development.

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World Food Safety Day 2024 news