Participants at the workshop from across the West and Central Africa Sub Region

FAO organises a Regional stakeholder Workshop on Laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity to address the concerns of  handling stored dangerous pathogens in veterinary laboratories in West, Central and North Africa

In response to the growing concerns over zoonotic events in Africa and their potential socio-economic impacts, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) organised a regional stakeholder workshop on Laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity (BS&S). The workshop will be held in Accra, Ghana, from 28 to 29 February 2024.

The backdrop for this initiative lies in the alarming frequency of zoonotic events reported annually by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO). These events, which often trigger disease outbreaks with profound socio-economic implications, underscore the urgency for robust BS&S measures. In this context, the establishment of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) by the Africa Union (AU) in 2017 has been pivotal in bolstering continental health security efforts.

With support from partners such as the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) of the United States, FAO has spearheaded various capacity-building initiatives across veterinary laboratories in West, Central, Northern, and Eastern Africa. Through programs like the Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT-2) and the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), FAO has been instrumental in enhancing BS&S protocols and fostering multi-sectoral collaboration.

Key objectives of the workshop

The two-day workshop discussed the newly developed FAO BS&S tools and the findings of pathogen prioritization and BS&S assessment exercises using these tools conducted in several African countries, including Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia. Key objectives of the workshop include identifying critical gaps, practical recommendations, and planning for the dissemination and use of these newly developed FAO BS&S tools, with a focus on the pathogen prioritization tool.

During the welcoming remarks, Abebe Wolde, FAO ECTAD Regional Manager for West and Central Africa, affirmed that “FAO has worked hard to create strong, interdisciplinary partnerships aimed at enhancing biosecurity and biosafety in veterinary labs across Africa. Our commitment stems from the recognition of biosecurity’s critical role in safeguarding our region and preventing emerging pandemic risks.” DTRA Regional West and Central Africa Program representative, Aminata Cassé, explained the work of DTRA and emphasised the “role of DTRA in ensuring best practises in biosecurity and risk management in the region”. Ghana’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Emmanuel Allege-Cudjoe, CVO and representative of MOFA, stressed the importance of “understanding pathogen threats, means understanding their rapid evolution, fuelled by technological advancements”. He also encouraged participants “to collaborate, exchange ideas, and devise concrete safety strategies for the well-being of our populations”.

This collaborative effort underscores the commitment of FAO ECTAD to proactive a coordinated action in safeguarding public health and strengthening biosecurity measures in the face of emerging threats.