The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has intensified public sensitisation and stakeholder engagement activities ahead of the 2026 World Metrology Day (WMD) celebration, with renewed focus on promoting accurate measurement practices for fair trade and consumer protection.

The Authority said the nationwide sensitisation campaign formed part of efforts to deepen public awareness about the importance of metrology, the science of measurement, in national development, economic fairness and public safety.

World Metrology Day is commemorated annually on May 20 to mark the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875, an international treaty that established the basis for a globally harmonised measurement system.

This year’s national celebration in Ghana will take place in Techiman on the theme: “Metrology: Building Trust in Policy Making.”

A press statement issued by the GSA and copied to the Ghana News Agency said activities lined up for the celebration included radio discussions, market sensitisation exercises and public education campaigns aimed at bringing measurement science closer to the people.

The statement explained that the GSA, Ghana’s National Metrology Institute (NMI), had in recent years shifted attention towards practical community engagement, especially among traders and operators within the informal sector.

It noted that the Authority had already undertaken direct engagements with butchers and cold store operators at the Madina and Kaneshie markets in Accra to educate them on the importance of calibrated equipment in ensuring fairness in commercial transactions.

According to the statement, the outreach programmes sought to promote confidence in trade by ensuring that weighing scales and measuring devices used in markets met approved standards.

“These initiatives demonstrate a clear policy shift: taking metrology out of laboratories into markets, hospitals, and industries,” the statement said.

The GSA recalled that during the 2024 World Metrology Day celebration in Kumasi, officials visited the Kejetia and Asafo markets where they educated traders on accurate measurement practices and conducted free calibration exercises for weighing scales.

Stakeholder workshops and media engagements were also organised to deepen awareness among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industry players on the importance of measurement accuracy.

The Authority said metrology played a crucial role in various sectors of the economy, including trade, healthcare, science, industry and infrastructure development, explaining that accurate measurements were essential in ensuring fair billing for utility services, quality assurance in industrial production and reliable diagnosis in healthcare delivery.

The statement said the GSA performed critical functions such as calibration of medical equipment, including thermometers and blood pressure devices, testing of industrial instruments such as pressure gauges and voltmeters, and certification and pattern approval of measuring devices before use.

The Authority added that it operated internationally accredited calibration laboratories in fields including temperature, mass, pressure, density and volume.

The statement also noted that metrology was actively applied across Ghana through fuel pump calibration at filling stations, testing of electricity meters for fair billing, construction material testing for infrastructure safety and the use of diagnostic equipment in hospitals.

“These activities ensure consumer protection, public safety, industrial growth and economic fairness,” it added.

The GSA stressed that as Ghana deepened participation in regional and international trade, accurate and traceable measurement systems would become increasingly important in improving competitiveness and facilitating exports.

It reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening partnerships and expanding outreach programmes to ensure that accurate measurements continued to support trust, fairness and national development.

Metrology is the science of measurement and provides the foundation for fair trade, industrial efficiency, scientific advancement and consumer protection globally.

The annual World Metrology Day celebration is coordinated internationally by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) and the International Organisation of Legal Metrology (OIML).

In Ghana, the Ghana Standards Authority is the statutory institution responsible for standards development, conformity assessment and metrology services.