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WOAH Supports African Members to Boost Biological Threat Reduction Capacities

The World Organisation for Animal Health is the intergovernmental organisation mandated to improve the health and welfare of animals world-wide. WOAH has actively collaborated with the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (the Global Partnership) for more than a decade to support global health security. This includes various projects and initiatives such as maintaining freedom from Rinderpest (a deadly cattle disease, globally eradicated in 2011), implementing a biological threat reduction strategy, and examining solutions for more sustainable laboratories.

As the global authority in animal health, WOAH plays vital role in supporting Veterinary Services worldwide so they can fulfil their important role in animal health and welfare, food security, food safety, and public health. Given that 80% of pathogenic agents that can potentially be used in bioterrorism are zoonotic and that many of these agents exist freely in nature and laboratories, Veterinary Services are pivotal in reducing the risk of their accidental or deliberate release.

With the support of Global Affairs Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program, and to contribute to the Global Partnership’s Signature Initiative to Mitigate Biological Threats in Africa, over the past 4 months WOAH has been actively implementing capacity building activities aimed at improving the biological threat reduction capacities of selected countries across Africa, as part of the Fortifying Institutional Resilience Against Biological Threats (FIRABioT) project. Launched in March 2023, the Project is partnering with nine countries including Algeria, Congo (Republic), Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

During the inception workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya, representatives of these countries met with WOAH staff, experts, and partners. Based on the discussions during the workshop, each country developed a workplan addressing needs in some or all of the four project areas – emergency management, disease intelligence, sustainable laboratories, and veterinary legislation. These workplans will be implemented over a period of three years (2023 – 2025), with the support of WOAH and its partners.  

BIOSECURITY THREAT ASSESSMENT IN LATIN AMERICA: CICTE/OAS AND UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND LAUNCHED NEW RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS

While the level of terrorist threats to biosecurity in Latin America remains relatively low, implementing internal measures and national biosafety and biosecurity regulations in laboratories and research centers is crucial. This is an essential step to prevent both intentional and unintentional biological accidents, mitigate risks, and prepare adequate responses in the event of an accident. Despite the experiences of the H1N1 epidemic in 2009 and the more recent COVID-19 pandemic, the region has shown vulnerability to biological threats.

The project titled "Strengthening Biosafety and Biosecurity in Latin America in line with Resolution 1540," conducted over the past years by the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism of the Organization of American States (CICTE/OAS) with the support of the European Union, aimed to lay the foundations for a stronger biosafety culture. The project also sought to create a Latin American network of expertise and strengthen biosafety and biosecurity standards and measures across the region.

In the context of the project, CICTE/OAS collaborated with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland. This collaboration resulted in the development of two free online courses in Spanish for laboratory personnel and, more recently, a series of publications showcasing the findings and results of a regional survey of potential biosecurity threats in Latin America.

This two-pronged effort included a comprehensive biosecurity threat assessment of the Central and South American region and four country-level threat assessments for Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic and Panama. These texts, in Spanish and English, provide a high-level assessment of the region for policy-focused individuals and those responsible for working in or managing the activities of laboratories, reviewing the current situation and assessing future challenges.

By way of background, a 2013 initial publication issued in Spanish, covered the scope and interrelationship of various biosafety and biosecurity concepts, existing international obligations to biosecurity through the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and UN Security Council Resolution 1540, the application of biosecurity across different facility types, and biosecurity risks such as proliferation, bioterrorism, agroterrorism, and bio-crime. Additionally, the publication discusses the five pillars and mechanisms of biosecurity and their application in the region.

The four countries featured in these studies have demonstrated a strong commitment to bio-risk reduction at all levels of the public and private sectors in creating safer environments. CICTE/OAS has facilitated cooperation within various funded programs, including peer review exercises and sub-regional and national workshops on biosafety and biosecurity. These reports aim to contribute to further strengthening controls and developing safer activities in handling biological agents to reduce security risks.

It is expected that these works will serve as effective tools for other countries in the region moving in a similar direction, aiding them in consolidating regulatory and control mechanisms in accordance with established international standards. CICTE/OAS expresses gratitude to the experts who participated in the project, sharing their knowledge and experiences, as well as the national authorities of all the involved countries for their trust, solid commitment, and ongoing work in strengthening compliance with international obligations.

Through these publications, CICTE/OAS reaffirms its traditional institutional support for the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime. The organization continues to express its willingness to collaborate in efforts aimed at ensuring greater regional security from multiple perspectives for all countries in the Americas.

The publications can be found and downloaded here: https://www.oas.org/ext/es/seguridad/unscr1540

WOAH Supports African Members to Boost Biological Threat Reduction Capacities

The World Organisation for Animal Health is the intergovernmental organisation mandated to improve the health and welfare of animals world-wide. WOAH has actively collaborated with the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (the Global Partnership) for more than a decade to support global health security. This includes various projects and initiatives such as maintaining freedom from Rinderpest (a deadly cattle disease, globally eradicated in 2011), implementing a biological threat reduction strategy, and examining solutions for more sustainable laboratories.

As the global authority in animal health, WOAH plays vital role in supporting Veterinary Services worldwide so they can fulfil their important role in animal health and welfare, food security, food safety, and public health. Given that 80% of pathogenic agents that can potentially be used in bioterrorism are zoonotic and that many of these agents exist freely in nature and laboratories, Veterinary Services are pivotal in reducing the risk of their accidental or deliberate release.

With the support of Global Affairs Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program, and to contribute to the Global Partnership’s Signature Initiative to Mitigate Biological Threats in Africa, over the past 4 months WOAH has been actively implementing capacity building activities aimed at improving the biological threat reduction capacities of selected countries across Africa, as part of the Fortifying Institutional Resilience Against Biological Threats (FIRABioT) project. Launched in March 2023, the Project is partnering with nine countries including Algeria, Congo (Republic), Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

During the inception workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya, representatives of these countries met with WOAH staff, experts, and partners. Based on the discussions during the workshop, each country developed a workplan addressing needs in some or all of the four project areas – emergency management, disease intelligence, sustainable laboratories, and veterinary legislation. These workplans will be implemented over a period of three years (2023 – 2025), with the support of WOAH and its partners.

Since the inception workshop, WOAH has organised four national training workshops on biosafety and biosecurity in animal health laboratories for Tanzania, Madagascar, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. These were aimed at equipping laboratory personnel with the necessary knowledge and skills required to set up and implement a biorisk management system, which is critical to preventing and mitigating biological threats originating from laboratories.

Additionally, in November 2023, WOAH conducted a regional training on biological waste management in animal health laboratories in collaboration with South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) - a Regional Diagnostic Demonstration Centre, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)’s Regional Centre of Excellence on Biosafety and Biosecurity for the Southern Africa region in Johannesburg, South Africa. Securely and appropriately managing biological waste is of paramount importance as it could be the source of a deliberate or accidental disease outbreak in animals and/or people. With this in mind, the training equipped participants with the best practices for disposal, containment, and treatment of biological waste arising from veterinary clinics, research laboratories, and other animal health facilities.

WOAH advocates for a multi-sectoral approach to biological threat reduction. As such, WOAH has encouraged the engagement and participation of the animal health, public health, environmental health, and security sectors in the workshops and trainings. This approach promotes relationship building, cooperation, information sharing, and exchange of good practices. The activities in the Project have provided opportunities to further strengthen existing partnerships as well as identify new experts and institutions, especially in the Global Partnership community, with which to engage.

Future national and regional level activities planned during the Project include diagnostics training, laboratory twinning (a WOAH capacity building programme), veterinary legislation reviews, development of contingency plans, bridging workshops on agro-crime and agro-terrorism, and trainings on bioinformatics, risk communication, and disease simulation exercises.

WOAH thanks Global Affairs Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program for financially supporting its biological threat reduction work.

One of the main focus of the EU-funded project is delivering in-person workshops. In the last six months, OAS/CICTE carried out seven face-to-face training courses for laboratory personnel and scientists from the live science fields. These workshops were designed to increase awareness of bio-risks and to strengthen knowledge on the challenges concerning biological safety and security. These courses took place, respectively, in Asuncion (Paraguay) from 17 to 21 April, Panama City (Panama) from 5 to 9 June, Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) from 17 to 21 July, Bogotá (Colombia) from 24 to 28 July, Buenos Aires (Argentina) from 7 to 11 August, Montevideo (Uruguay) from 8 to 11 August, and Santiago (Chile) from 4 to 8 September. On average, some 30 participants from public or private institutions and research centers attended each of these courses.

Training in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, July 17-21, 2023 Professionals from: 12 laboratories, 7 hospitals, 4 health government agencies and 11 academia

Since the inception workshop, WOAH has organised four national training workshops on biosafety and biosecurity in animal health laboratories for Tanzania, Madagascar, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. These were aimed at equipping laboratory personnel with the necessary knowledge and skills required to set up and implement a biorisk management system, which is critical to preventing and mitigating biological threats originating from laboratories.

Additionally, in November 2023, WOAH conducted a regional training on biological waste management in animal health laboratories in collaboration with South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) - a Regional Diagnostic Demonstration Centre, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)’s Regional Centre of Excellence on Biosafety and Biosecurity for the Southern Africa region in Johannesburg, South Africa. Securely and appropriately managing biological waste is of paramount importance as it could be the source of a deliberate or accidental disease outbreak in animals and/or people. With this in mind, the training equipped participants with the best practices for disposal, containment, and treatment of biological waste arising from veterinary clinics, research laboratories, and other animal health facilities.

WOAH advocates for a multi-sectoral approach to biological threat reduction. As such, WOAH has encouraged the engagement and participation of the animal health, public health, environmental health, and security sectors in the workshops and trainings. This approach promotes relationship building, cooperation, information sharing, and exchange of good practices. The activities in the Project have provided opportunities to further strengthen existing partnerships as well as identify new experts and institutions, especially in the Global Partnership community, with which to engage.

Future national and regional level activities planned during the Project include diagnostics training, laboratory twinning (a WOAH capacity building programme), veterinary legislation reviews, development of contingency plans, bridging workshops on agro-crime and agro-terrorism, and trainings on bioinformatics, risk communication, and disease simulation exercises.

WOAH thanks Global Affairs Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program for financially supporting its biological threat reduction work.

Group picture, inception workshop. Centre-front: Dr Obadiah Njagi, WOAH Delegate, Kenya (left) and Mr. Warren Mucci, Deputy High Commissioner of Canada, Kenya (right). Picture (c) Communication (WOAH) 2023.

Drs. Toky Ramilijohn and Hoby Andriamampianina from Madagascar demonstrate how to clean up a laboratory spillage.  Picture © I. Busuulwa (woah) 2023

Ms. Mmashela Kgole (Manager Waste Assurance at South Africa’s National Health Laboratory Services [NHLS]) facilitating the biological waste management training. Picture © I. Busuulwa (woah) 2023

Group picture, inception workshop. Centre-front: Dr Obadiah Njagi, WOAH Delegate, Kenya (left) and Mr. Warren Mucci, Deputy High Commissioner of Canada, Kenya (right). Picture (c) Communication (WOAH) 2023.

Drs. Toky Ramilijohn and Hoby Andriamampianina from Madagascar demonstrate how to clean up a laboratory spillage.  Picture © I. Busuulwa (woah) 2023

Ms. Mmashela Kgole (Manager Waste Assurance at South Africa’s National Health Laboratory Services [NHLS]) facilitating the biological waste management training. Picture © I. Busuulwa (woah) 2023