Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo
Herald Reporter
SADC member States have reaffirmed their commitment to establishing a harmonised regional regulatory framework for Commercially Produced Complementary Foods for children aged between six months and three years, as part of efforts to combat malnutrition.
The initiative seeks to address growing nutrition challenges in Southern Africa, where an estimated 23 million children suffer from stunting, while about 49 million experience child food poverty, according to UNICEF.
In a communiqué, the SADC Secretariat said the harmonised standards are intended to ensure that complementary foods are safe, nutritionally adequate, properly labelled and supportive of breastfeeding.
The proposed standards will also help prevent risks associated with poor product composition, misleading marketing and health claims, and inconsistent regulations across member States.
“They are being developed in line with guidance from the World Health Organisation and the Codex Alimentarius Commission,” said SADC.
The meeting was attended by representatives from SADC member States, the SADC Secretariat, UNICEF, the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community, as well as experts in nutrition, standards development and technical regulation.
The regional body said harmonised standards would strengthen child nutrition interventions, while improving consumer protection and regulatory consistency across the region.
Meanwhile, Heads of INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) from SADC countries, meeting in Lilongwe, Malawi, have called for enhanced information sharing as part of regional efforts to combat transnational organised crime and create a secure SADC region.
Delivering remarks at the opening of the meeting, Malawi’s Deputy Inspector General for Operations, Dr Mlowoka Noel Kaira, underscored the direct link between security and development.
He said combating transnational organised crime was essential to safeguarding communities and advancing the objectives of SADC Vision 2050.
Head of the INTERPOL Regional Bureau in Harare, Mr Gerald Chiwanda, Director of the Central Intelligence Department of the Malawi Police Service and Chairperson of the PCSC, Ms Thanyani Gumede, and Senior Officer Police at the SARPCCO SADC Secretariat, Mr Sello Moerane, collectively agreed that strengthening intelligence sharing and leveraging INTERPOL’s global network would enhance the region’s ability to disrupt criminal networks and protect citizens.
They also noted that greater cooperation among law enforcement agencies would help create conditions for sustainable economic growth, peace and security across the region.
The meeting of Heads of INTERPOL National Central Bureaus is one of several preparatory engagements ahead of the SADC Chiefs of Police meeting scheduled for tomorrow and Friday in Malawi.
The gathering is expected to deliberate on regional security challenges and strengthen collaborative mechanisms to combat organised crime, trafficking, cybercrime and other cross-border threats affecting member States.
