The Gulele Branch Office of th...

The Gulele Branch Office of the Addis Ababa Food and Medicine Authority is actively working to establish a "model block."

Date: 18/02/2019 (E.C.)

The Gulele Branch Office has reached a consensus with approximately 126 "block organizations" (local community/business clusters) to create a "model neighborhood." The objective is to ensure that health and food-related establishments within these areas provide products and services that meet established standards, while also keeping the environment free from illegal tobacco products and protecting goods from exposure to the elements (such as sunlight and dust).

An agreement has been reached with these organizations to focus on executing this initiative over the next 90 days.

The discussion emphasized the necessity of strengthening coordination with members of these model neighborhoods to: prevent the sale and distribution of illegal tobacco products; halt violations of tobacco control laws; and ensure the safety and quality of food and health-related products—thereby keeping these neighborhoods free from such issues. Ms. Mekdes Kassa, General Manager of the branch office, indicated that the 90-day intensive action plan includes regulatory oversight of retail shops, suppliers of food and health-related products, and other relevant establishments across the branch’s ten *woredas* (districts). She noted that, as part of discussions held with members of the "model village" initiative, the planned activities include: verifying that tobacco products are sold in compliance with the law; enforcing the prohibitions on the sale and use of tobacco products as stipulated in Proclamation No. 1112/2011; preventing the distribution of illicit tobacco products; and controlling prohibited tobacco advertisements.

Furthermore, she stated that joint regulatory and law enforcement efforts will be undertaken to ensure the safety and quality of packaged food, beverages, and other health-related products—specifically by taking appropriate corrective measures in locations where such products are exposed to sunlight and dust. In this regard, the manager emphasized that since the 90-day intensive work plan—which focuses on strengthening coordination among 'model village' members, enhancing the effectiveness of oversight, and enforcing the law—is vital for safeguarding public health, every member of the model village must diligently fulfill their assigned responsibilities and work in a coordinated manner to achieve the established goals.