The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) is a global partnership – established by FAO, OIE, the World Bank, WHO and the WTO – that supports developing countries in building their capacity to implement international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards, guidelines and recommendations as a means to improve their human, animal and plant health status and ability to gain and maintain access to markets.

STDF's mandate is to:

• increase awareness, mobilize resources, strengthen collaboration, identify and disseminate good practice;
• provide support and funding to develop and implement projects that promote compliance with international SPS requirements.

The focus of the STDF is on the WTO SPS Agreement, which reaffirms the right of governments to provide the level of health protection they deem appropriate, while avoiding unnecessary barriers to trade. The STDF has carried out research in selected countries in Southeast Asia and Southern Africa to identify good practice and opportunities to improve the implementation of SPS controls (based on the provisions of the SPS Agreement) in a way that facilitates safe trade, while minimizing transaction costs. This work offers recommendations that can support the integration of SPS-related components in broader trade facilitation programmes. See: http://standardsfacility.org/facilitating-safe-trade

An STDF film "Safe Trade Solutions" looks at what Chile, Peru and Colombia have done to make goods flow faster across their borders, while ensuring that food is safe for consumers and preventing the spread of pests or diseases among plants and animals.