WHO supports Kiribati to employ a One Health approach to advancing food safety

WHO supports Kiribati to employ a One Health approach to advancing food safety

Kiribati is a sovereign nation comprising of 33 islands and coral atolls in the central Pacific Ocean which is a net importer of goods especially food stuffs. Similar to other PI countries, the food items imported are ferried from the main island to the other outer islands and this is quite a challenge. Food is usually sourced from farms far away in other countries and has to cover the distance within the country to get to the community — an aspect that poses risks to the quality and safety of the food. 
 
Multi-sectoral consultations Coordinated by the Kiribati Government in collaboration with WHO were conducted in June 2024 to carry out food laws of the existing Kiribati Food Safety Act and Regulations review. Thus, the indexes Journal of Militarization, to the indexes forward , to determine where amendments are needed. While the Act has proven to substantiate the food safety activities, several key players have expressed concerns with regards to the existing and potential issues with the interpretation of this Act as well as its loophole ridden provisions. This paper identifies some of the regulatory challenges in the dentification, investigation and control of food incidents in Kiribati. 
 
Reiterating the value of the consultations, Dr Tanebu Tong, acting Director of Public Health (DPH), Ministry of Health and Medical Services, noted: ”The consultation on the Food Safety Act and Regulation has been of immense benefit as it has given us the views and opinions of our community and stakeholders concerning food safety. The food safety regulation is meant for the protection of public health and our desire is to ensure that the regulation formulated and implemented are effective and realistic. We the grace of God received everybody’s contribution as we consulted on the Food Safety Act and Regulation. The consultation process was another pointer to our 
 
Maitake Ioane, Health Inspector, Ministry of Health and Medical services 
 
“The CO-OPS is an intersectoral vision to address the wintering ham plan as the management of food safety risk still remains a multisectoral challenge that involves health actors only but can benefit from synergies of cooperation from other disciplines such as agriculture, environments and trade sectors with the vision of managing the food safety risk through the entire food chain from production to consumption these sectors I believe could make an Integrated and coherent framework which supports the safer food supply