Chad Hosts Technical Experts from WHO FCTC Secretariat

In September, technical experts from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Secretariat engaged with Chad government officials, parliamentarians, civil society organisations and other national stakeholders in a joint needs assessment to support the country’s implementation of the FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, which it has been party to since 2018.

The mission reviewed current measures, identified implementation needs and addressed continuing challenges associated with illicit trade in tobacco products.

Dr Patrick Musavuli, FCTC Secretariat mission lead, acknowledged Chad’s progress in tobacco control but emphasised the country’s vulnerability to regional illicit trade networks due to its geographic location (landlocked between Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon). He called on the government to accelerate implementation of a tracking and tracing system (as required by the Protocol) by enforcing the country’s existing law on tobacco fiscal marking.

In 2015, before the adoption of the law, the tobacco industry had successfully lobbied for the introduction of a decree based specifically on Codentify technology. This technology was originally developed and patented by Philip Morris International but subsequently sold to a third party called INEXTO and rebranded as INEXTO Suite. However, despite the industry’s efforts, the decree – establishing a system for the authentication, tracking, traceability and digital tax verification of tobacco products manufactured or imported into Chad – was never implemented due to a lack of independence from the tobacco industry.