Sierra Leonean bags UN Award
Forty two year old Dr. Mohamed Sheriff (in photo) has won a prestigious award from the United Nations Organisation. Due to his hard work in changing the approach to food safety and quality management he has been given the UN 21 Award in the “Efficiency” category. The award was announced recently by the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki Moon.
Dr. Mohamed Sheriff is currently a UN official ensuring food safety and quality assurance in UN peace keeping missions. He fulfilled the duties of expertise in food safety (microbiological and chemical) and quality and corresponding regional and international standards, particularly those on sanitary and phytosanitary requirements and policies. He has ample international experience on assessment and modernization of national, regional and international food safety control system, veterinary and phytosanitary services and capacity building, policy and regulation development and training for food control, food borne hazard assessment and critical control point’s system-HACCP, and good manufacturing practices, good agricultural practices, good laboratory practices, expertise in food ingredients, additives and contaminants.
He is an expert on multidisciplinary, multi-cultural team building and leading national and international research project development and management. He has a wealth of experience in academic (research and teaching) extension (training industrial (consulting, training trouble schooling), non-profit and public sector settings (technical assistance, laboratory services, training, policy and regulations).
While working for the UN Dr. Sheriff is also working behind the scenes to improve Sierra Leone’s agricultural and fishery health and food safety policies and to modernize and strengthen natural veterinary and phytosanitary services and food safety and quality control systems throughout the country.
For example Dr. Sheriff got approval for funding for his food safety project for Sierra Leone through collaboration with the Sierra Leone Standards Bureau, in line with the appropriate Ministries and reputable international organizations. His project on integrating SPS in Sierra Leone and the whole chain approach to developing the national food safety management systems is due to commence between October to November 2013.
According to Dr. Sheriff, Sierra Leone has considerable agricultural and fishery resources and needs the foreign exchange that trading these products internationally would deliver, but the current national food safety management system does not achieve international standards, which he says adversely affects the export of agricultural and fishery products.
“Access to markets in the short term, and the development of sustainable demand for agricultural and fishery products in the longer term will be achieved only by building the trust and confidence of trading partners in the management and control of the Sierra Leone’s food safety management system,” he maintains.
The key to building this confidence is the achievement of SPS standards-hence the requirement for this project.
The project of food rations delivery to quality food management in peacekeeping was one of the projects selected among one hundred nominated projects for the 2013 United Nations Award.
The United Nations 21 Award recognizes some of the best innovative efforts to enhance the way UN does business at the international level. This year ceremony marks the seventy years of a proud tradition. As the name of the awards suggests, UN’s objective is to honour staff members and initiators make that help to strengthen the UN in the 21st century. The UN 21st Awards are the most prestigious awards established by Mr. Ban Ki Moon and he has continued this initiative and awarded this year’s 21st Awards at a ceremony at UN headquarters in New York on 13th September, 2013.
The awards focus on five categories: efficiency- which is essential in a time of scarce resource; knowledge management-to the experience throughout the system; communication-to best tell the story of UN work in meaningful and engaging ways to people around the world, geared to preserve the environment and also ensure that the UN operations act in a responsible and sustainable manner; and finally, staff volunteerism-initiatives that take shared values beyond the workplace.
Dr. Sheriff worked for the Sierra Leone Standards Bureau as a Food Safety and Quality Assurance Manager from 1999-2003. Prior to joining the Sierra Leone Standard Bureau, he worked as a Research and Teaching Assistant in Njala University from 1996- 1999. He holds a Ph.D. in Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) from the University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom, Mphil. Edu. (University of Sierra Leone) M. Sc. HACCP (UK) and B. Sc. Edu. Chemistry and Biology (University of Sierra Leone).
Dr. Mohamed Sheriff was born in 1971 to devoted and pious Muslim parents in Bongor, Bumpeh Chiefdom, Bo District. He attended the Roman Catholic Primary School in Bumpeh and entered the Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School in Bo where he graduated in 1988. Dr. Mohamed Sheriff is a member of the Sigma XI, the Scientific Research Society.
“My slogan is work hard, without expectation of name, fame, promotion or money. If you live this way everything will come in time and at the right time. I have tried to realize this all my life. If recognition did not come, it did not come and does not matter because work itself is exhilarating. My former Chemistry Teacher and Supervisor, Mr. Ansu Jabalti and my mentor, Mr. Henry Kamara, are some of the few people who encouraged me to hard work and I always think of their fascinating attitudes when it comes to work,” Dr Sheriff concluded.
By Sheikh Ahmed
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