COLEACP Support To Laboratories in East Africa

COLEACP

EDES support to laboratories in Eastern Africa
In March 2013, a regional workshop on the role of laboratories in the food safety system took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This gave the participants the desire to confirm and enhance the cooperation between laboratories of the East African Community (EAC). Pursuing the aim of networking food security actors, EDES supported the initiative. The workshop participants have been able to identify the common challenges most laboratories are facing such as limited access to equipment. Furthermore, they realized that certain capacities and equipment accumulated in the region may be more effective if shared. Therefore, twinning initiatives have been initiated that subsequently led to the creation of a regional network of laboratories: the East African Laboratory Network (EALN). The EALN was set up by the Dar es Salaam workshop participants and gradually expanded itself with currently 50 members. First observation: usefulness of such a network increases depending on the number of members and their level of activity. The following topics have already been discussed: Pesticide use and regulations Grants and income of the regional researchers Results of the research on regional issues Integrated pest management progress Worldwide available e-learning courses with concern for laboratories Essay contest of the Global Development Network and of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Invitation to conferences and workshops. If you are interested in laboratory works and especially if you work in a laboratory in Africa, feel free to join the network not only to get information but also to actively participate in it. For further information: Mr. Felix Mwema Lead administrator of the EALN mwema.felix@gmail.com Dr Olafur Oddgeirsson EDES geographic coordinator olafur.oddgeirsson@coleacp.org
	EDES-COLEACP – Rue du Trône 130 – B-1050 Brussels Tel: +32 2 627 52 90 – http://edes.coleacp.org – edes@coleacp.org
EDES is financed by the European Union and implemented at the request of the ACP Group of States