Standards Alliance Success Stories: Sustainable City Planning and Empowering the Energy Sector in West Africa
3/31/2021
Thanks to the support of the Standards Alliance, a public-private partnership between the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), residents of the West African village Abobo-Baoulé in Cote d’Ivoire are sowing the seeds of sustainable development in their community. In Senegal, the partnership supports an initiative to train solar photovoltaic (PV) technicians in accordance with relevant international standards in communities that live without power.
Launched in 2012, the Standards Alliance supports the capacity of developing countries in the areas of legal and regulatory framework, standards development, conformity assessment, and private-sector engagement. In support of Trade Africa, the Standards Alliance in 2014 expanded its partnership to include Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique, Senegal, and Zambia to improve compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on trade facilitation and technical barriers to trade.
New feature articles published on standardsalliance.ansi.org showcase Standards Alliance success stories, including how the partnership supports the transformation of the energy sector in Senegal and sustainable city development in Côte d’Ivoire.
To create a lasting training curriculum for local technicians and enhance local practices for solar mini-grid installation, maintenance, and efficiency, the Standards Alliance, in coordination with private-sector companies Outback Power, Enersys, and Remote Energy has developed and implemented an initiative to train PV technicians in Senegal in accordance with relevant international standards. Read more about the trainings—designed to support women to encourage equitable labor force participation—in "Standards Alliance: Transforming the Energy Sector in Senegal."
Another recent success story, the village of Abobo-Baoulé coordinated with a local committee to develop a five-year sustainable city development plan, as outlined in accordance with ISO 37101, Sustainable development in communities – Management system for sustainable development – Requirements with guidance.
Read more about it in the article "Standards on Sustainable City Development in Côte d’Ivoire."
More about the Standards Alliance
The Standards Alliance was announced by USAID in November 2012 as a funding facility designed to provide capacity-building assistance to developing countries, specifically related to implementation of the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement.
The main objectives of the program include: increased understanding of WTO TBT principles; implementation of the Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards; improved transparency in the development and/or modification of technical regulations; and more robust and transparent engagement with the private sector in standards development and use.
Trade Africa was an initiative between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa that was initiated in 2013 with countries of the East African Community to increase continental and regional trade within Africa, and to expand trade and economic ties among the Unites States, Africa, and other global markets. In 2014, the Trade Africa Initiative expanded to involve new partners, including Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique, Senegal, and Zambia. In support of Trade Africa, the Standards Alliance partnered with Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique, Senegal, and Zambia to improve compliance with the WTO rules on trade facilitation and technical barriers to trade.
