World Accreditation Day 2023 celebrations, organized by the Regional Center for Evaluation in Education, Environment, Health and Accreditation in Africa (CRESAC) were held on Friday June 9, 2023, at the Amphitheater of the UFR of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences of the Felix Houphouët Boigny (FHB) University of Cocody. The generic theme was: “Accreditation: Supporting the future of global trade.”
The subthemes developed by CRESAC were entitled:
- “Issues and Challenges of accreditation in the sustainable development of global trade: Case of the health and education sectors”.
- “CRESAC: Regional accreditation opportunity”.
This day was co-sponsored by:
- the Minister of Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Health Coverage (MSHP-CMU), Mr. Pierre DIMBA,
- and the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Professor Adama DIAWARA.
The agenda for the day was structured around two important activities:
1. The speeches
- PCO speech: Welcome and content of the agenda
The day began with a welcome from Professor MONDE Absalome, Head of the Studies and Development Department and President of the Organizing Committee. He addressed warm greetings from CRESAC to the authorities and participants and brought to their attention the content of the day’s agenda.
- Speech by the President of FHB University
The teacher Vincent MONSAN, Vice-President of the University, representing Professor BALLO Zié, President of the Félix-Houphouët Boigny University of Cocody (University hosting the ceremony) indicated that his university was honored by the choice made on it to host such an event.
He also in his speech, recommended to decision-makers to preserve the interests of future generations before hoping in his closing remarks, that the “exchanges resulting from this day lead to an improvement in higher education and health of our populations.”
- Speech by the Executive Secretary of CRESAC
The Executive Secretary of CRESAC, Professor SESS Daniel first thanked his hosts who, through their presence, gave a special shine to this commemorative meeting of the 16th World Accreditation Day. He then noted the need for professionals in the various fields concerned as the world is changing.
Mr. Executive Secretary indicated that quality being at the heart of all activity “accreditation bodies and the various players in the quality sector have a duty to work to meet the challenge of fighting for quality and the well-being of our fellow citizens”.
The Executive Secretary took the opportunity to present the history of CRESAC, and bring to the attention of the assembly certain achievements including upgrading of the centers of health, development of benchmarks, achievement of accreditation, etc.
Mr. Executive Secretary also announced the prospects of accreditation of new laboratories and his vision of seeking the status of signatory of the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) of ILAC.
At the end of his speech, he expressed his warm thanks to the Ministers.
- Speech by the Representative of the Minister of SHP-CMU (Opening of the day)
Professor Soro _ Kountelé Gona, Deputy Chief of Staff, representing Mr. DIMBA Pierre, Minister of Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Health Coverage (MSHP-CMU) welcomed the multiple efforts undertaken by CRESAC, headed by SESS Professor Daniel for the commitment to the culture of quality.
In his message, he noted that today’s world is more interconnected than ever, with trade that transcends borders and continents.
2. Conferences
This conference hosted by Ms. Professor DOSSO Mireille, Director of the Pasteur Institute of Ivory Coast, had the theme: “Issues and challenges of accreditation in the sustainable development of global trade: Case of the health and education sectors”.
It has structured its development around three axes:
– Definition of the concepts of quality, certification and accreditation
– Issues and challenges of accreditation in education
– Issues and challenges of accreditation in health
Regarding the issues and challenges of accreditation in the sustainable development of global trade in the health and education sectors, Professor DOSSO Mireille highlighted the interest in accreditation by demonstrating that it can add value to an organization by establishing trust in its goods and services, improving its competitiveness and making it easier to monitor its compliance in order to “Support the future of global trade.”
For her, accreditation in the Higher Education sector will promote the implementation, deployment and recognition of the reform of the License-Master-Doctorate (LMD) system of our States on a global scale, as well as the universalization of knowledge and academic mobility requirements.
For the speaker, health accreditation consists of committing to reducing the risks linked to care in order to resolve the equation of sustainability of human existence in global trade.
In short, health accreditation remains the key to reducing the challenges in health globally, as well as many problems and potential consequences of this sector, in order to promote global trade.
The discussions with the speaker were then moderated by Professor Mamadou SAMBA, Director General of Health.
The second conference was moderated by Professor BONNY Jean-Sylvain, Head of the Occupational Medicine Department of the UFR SMA, who is also a member of the CRESAC executive secretariat.
The theme of his intervention was:
“CRESAC: Regional accreditation opportunity”
From the outset, he gave the history of the creation of CRESAC and presented its opportunities in the field of accreditation noting that CRESAC remains a benchmark in terms of accreditation, especially since its scope covers several areas.
Professor Jean-Sylvain BONNY presented the accreditation procedure:
- Accreditation request (Applicant organization)
- Examination of the application and notification to the applicant
- Preparing for the evaluation visit
- Initial assessment
- Decision of the Sectoral Accreditation Committee
- Notification of the decision to the requesting organization.
He presented the opportunities of CRESAC accreditation as contributing to regional positioning and affecting competition in the global market.
For Professor Jean-Sylvain BONNY, the laboratories demonstrate their competence and high level of quality thanks to accreditation to international standards, thus strengthening their quality management system.
It also increases business efficiency, governance, productivity and profits. Accreditation to globally recognized standards is increasingly important due to competition in the global marketplace.
Additionally, accreditation increases the level of investor confidence and strengthens collaboration between suppliers from different countries.
The exchanges between the speaker and the public were moderated by Professor MONDE Absalome, Head of the Studies and Development Department of CRESAC.
The closing speech was made by Professor GNAGNE-KOFFI Yolande, Technical Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, responsible for Health. On behalf of the Minister, she addressed words of thanks, encouragement and congratulations to CRESAC, for having developed this precious theme showcasing the challenges in the accreditation of our education and health systems with a view to making a significant contribution in the sustainable development of world trade.
She, on behalf of the Minister, congratulated Professor SESS for the strong actions carried out to promote accreditation in Africa and confirming the availability of the ministry to support CRESAC.
Posted on 23rd October 2023
