Since returning home to Zimbabwe, she has been working on a project together with four other course participants that involves devising a national quality infrastructure policy.
The working group has presented an action plan for the project to the government of Zimbabwe and drawn up contacts with a number of important stakeholders. Progress has been made on devising supplementary policies and technical regulations and strategies.
However, the working group has encountered challenges along the way. These include changes to the government of Zimbabwe, which has delayed the project.
Swedac’s training programme is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. It is based on the WTO’s TBT Agreement, which relates to methods for eliminating technical barriers to trade. The purpose is to provide participants with a general knowledge of quality infrastructure linked with trade, and then to help them build up a functioning quality infrastructure in their own countries.
Viktoria Lindberg Martinell, project manager for Swedac’s international training courses, maintains regular contact with all participants. She will be visiting Dr Eve Gadzikwa in Zimbabwe in autumn.
“Being able to get involved and assist participants in their efforts to build up a functioning quality infrastructure in their own countries is a really rewarding experience,” she says.
Swedac will be following Dr Eve Gadzikwa and reporting on the completion of her project in a future newsletter.