Happy International Women's Day! 
 Under the #EU-funded #WACOMP, many talented female professionals are working to strengthen competitiveness in West Africa and foster women empowerment throughout the various programme activities.
 #IWD2022 #InternationalWomensDay #ClimateAction

Let's listen to Mrs. Anna Ndiaye TRAORE, Chemical Engineer, holder of a Master's degree in Bio-environment and a PhD in Physical Chemistry applied to energy. She is in charge of the Water and Fertilizer Quality Unit at CERES-Locustox, which has a water and fertilizer quality analysis laboratory.
 
What is quality for you?
It is the ability of a product or a service to meet specified normative requirements.
 
What role should and can women play in promoting quality, especially in West Africa?
Women must be committed and must have a solid knowledge of quality standards and regulatory texts.
In the field of testing, women must occupy a key position to play their part in promoting quality.
Women must be able to assert themselves in West Africa in order to promote the notion of quality of a product or service.
 
What can and should conformity assessment contribute to the establishment of a culture of quality in the region?
Conformity assessment in the region ensures that products and services are of good quality in accordance with specified normative requirements.
This conformity assessment will allow for the correction/improvement of certain practices or the maintenance of existing ones in order to establish a culture of quality in the long term. The government should participate in the establishment of a quality culture by making a standard mandatory. The government can make a standard mandatory for the protection of consumer health and the environment by issuing an interministerial order. In this way, the standard becomes a technical regulation and the control services concerned are responsible for ensuring its strict application.