KENAS at the 15th AFRAC General Assembly: Strengthening Accreditation in Africa
The 15th AFRAC General Assembly (GA) and Meetings, held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 16th – 20th September 2024, brought together Accreditation Bodies (ABs) from across the continent to discuss the future of accreditation in Africa.
Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS), an AFRAC arrangement member, participated in the discussions highlighting the importance of accreditation in strengthening both domestic and export markets, reducing Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs), and supporting Africa's ambitions under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Kenya’s Role in Strengthening Accreditation
In Kenya, accreditation has played a significant role in industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, and health, all of which are critical to the country's trade strategy. By ensuring that products meet stringent international standards, accreditation has supported Kenya’s exports to regional markets like South Africa and Nigeria, as well as to international markets.
Kenya, through KENAS, has been at the forefront of promoting robust accreditation frameworks. KENAS's participation in the AFRAC GA underscores its commitment to the development of a robust accreditation framework in Africa. With 265 accredited clients, and over 100 of these being medical laboratories, this collective effort ensures that accredited laboratories, certification bodies, and inspection bodies operate to the highest international standards, facilitating smoother trade within Africa and beyond.
Additionally, KENAS works collaboratively with other accreditation bodies in Africa to enhance their capacity, provide mentorship, and share expertise with, notably the engagement with the Uganda National Accreditation Service (UGANAS) and the Rwanda National Accreditation Office (RNAO) has strengthened the region’s overall accreditation capacity.
In a landmark achievement, KENAS recently accredited the first Validation and Verification Body under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) sub scope, Soleil Solutions, marking a significant step towards ensuring environmental accountability in Africa. Moreover, it recently accredited Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), marking the first time a healthcare regulatory body in Africa was accredited as a persons certification body. Such initiatives are critical to ensuring that healthcare products and services across Africa meet required standards, enhancing trust in the African healthcare system.
Accreditation as a Key Driver of Trade
Accreditation assures that the goods and services being traded meet required safety, health, and quality benchmarks. This is particularly vital for reducing TBTs, which remain one of the biggest hindrances to intra-African trade.
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to harmonize Africa into a single, unified market, making cross-border trade more accessible. Through such initiatives, African countries are looking to reduce dependence on external markets by building stronger trade links within the continent. However, for this to succeed, it is essential to have uniform standards for product safety, health, and quality.
African Accreditation Cooperation (AFRAC) plays a pivotal role in ensuring that accreditation practices are harmonized across Africa. This cooperation reduces duplicative processes and ensures that accreditation granted in one African country is recognized throughout the continent.
Conclusion
As Africa continues to build its intra-continental trade networks under the AfCFTA, accreditation will be a key enabler of economic growth. Through the ongoing work of AFRAC, African accreditation bodies are aligning their practices to facilitate smoother trade and strengthen the continent’s quality infrastructure. The 15th AFRAC GA marked a critical step toward this goal, reaffirming the commitment of all participants to driving the harmonization of standards and reducing trade barriers. By eliminating TBTs and promoting trust in products and services, accreditation is facilitating the realization of AfCFTA’s vision for a unified African market.
Dr. Walter Ongeti
Chief Executive Officer
Kenya Accreditation Service
