IJCA - Volume 2 - Flipbook - Page 51
2023 | Volume 2, Issue 1
of the health of populations and
animals, and the preservation
of the environment. In addition,
the accreditation of CABs is an
effective tool in terms of public
health and for increasing trade
in the UEMOA and ECOWAS
region. This is why SOAC-WAAS
will fully play its role in order to
make available, in West Africa,
world-class and affordable
accreditation services. To
this end, the commitment and
support of UEMOA and ECOWAS
member states, as well as the two
Commissions, must be required
to support SOAC-WAAS, but
also NiNAS and GhaNAS in the
dynamics of strengthening public
health and food safety, as well as
the development of fair trade.
Author Biographies
Marcel Gbaguidi, from Senegal, is
specialized in International Trade
and Quality Management (Master
Lille1 University, France, MBA from
Institut Supérieur de Management,
Senegal). He is evolving since 25
years on quality infrastructure
issues. In this capacity, he worked,
as a consultant, for many agencies,
including the French Development
Agency (AFD), the World Health
Organization (WHO), the World
Bank (WB), the International Trade
©Freepik
Center (ITC), the EU TBT project
on SPS / TBT Agreements, etc.,
and particularly for the West
Africa Quality Infrastructure
Programs, executed by the United
Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) and with
which he has been committed
since 2008. He has held, among
other responsibilities, that of expert
in quality infrastructure, Head of
sub office / chief technical expert
of UNIDO West Africa Quality
Infrastructure Programs. Since
2018, he has been appointed as
Director General of SOAC, the
West Africa Multi- economies
Accreditation Body, which was
developed with UNIDO support.
Since November 2021, he has
held the position of Resident
Representative of SOAC-WAAS
following the establishment of
the latter as an international
organization with diplomatic status
in Côte d’Ivoire.
Kafui Codjo Kouassi, a Togolese
national, initially trained as an
engineer in medical testing with
a unique PhD in biochemistry/
nutrition and a DUAP (Diplôme
Universitaire d’Approfondissement
Professionnel-Responsable Qualité
of Nancy-1 in France). He has been
evolving for more than 10 years in
the field of quality, providing training
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and auditing missions sponsored
by UNIDO, SOAC-WAAS, WAQSP,
etc. Since 2014, Mr. Kouassi has
been a teacher-researcher at
the University of Lomé (Togo).
He is currently an associate
professor at this university. Since
2017, he has been chairing the
ECOWAS Community Conformity
Assessment Committee
(ECOCONF).
Amadou Diop, currently the
National Accreditation Focal
Point of SOAC-WAAS in Mali, is a
graduate of the École Nationale
d’Administration (ENA) of Mali and
holds a post-graduate degree from
the University of Lund in Politics,
Commercial Law and International
Trade Law. A Malian national,
Mr. Diop is also a member of the
ECOWAS Community Conformity
Assessment Committee
(ECOCONF).
He works as an expert for UNIDO,
particularly on the development
of technical regulations and
standardization in the ECOWAS
region and on SPS issues.
He is also a consultant to the
International Trade Centre (ITC) on
technical barriers to trade issues
(standards, conformity assessment,
and regulations) related to AfCFTA
and women traders’ empowerment.
