ACCRA, 12 August 2020 - As part of UNIDO’s efforts to promote industry 4.0 and modern smart technology, a virtual assessment has taken place and remote support has been provided to the Ghanaian government’s Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) Cosmetic Laboratory. The FDA is the national body responsible for the regulation of, amongst others, food, drugs, food supplements, herbal and homeopathic medicines, veterinary medicines and cosmetics.

While no industry is escaping the disruption of COVID-19, UNIDO is building resilience by implementing the latest technological solutions to provide remote technical assistance. In this case, UNIDO provided smart glasses, an innovative tool that combines video conferencing and augmented reality, allowing anybody with an internet connection to see and interact with the environment of the smart glasses’ user. This solution brings many opportunities and has potential for enhancing technical assistance, verifying products, processes and capabilities, and generating electronic evidence for international certification and accreditation.  

The smart glasses solution enabled an international expert on laboratory analysis, based in Rome, to exchange video, audio and data, to provide technical support and to assess the physical infrastructure, equipment, and human capacities during a live visit to the laboratory in Accra. The analyst in the FDA Cosmetic Laboratory was able to receive instructions directly from the international expert and execute the tasks required.

In addition, the UNIDO project management team in Vienna, Austria, also participated in the live session. After conducting the virtual visit, the expert team concluded that the Food and Drugs Administration Cosmetic Laboratory is ready to receive support from UNIDO in its accreditation process.

The virtual visit was a joint effort of two UNIDO projects, the West African Competitiveness Programme - WACOMP Ghana, funded by the European Union, and the Global Quality and Standards Programme (GQSP), funded by the Swiss Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO).

For more information, please contact:

Juan Pablo Davila, Project Manager UNIDO

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