Biopreparedness assistance to implementing the BWC Centre for - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Danish Centre for Biosecurity and Biopreparedness – assistance to implementing the BWC

Centre for Biosecurity and Biopreparedness

• Established in 2001 under the Ministry of Health.
• Core responsibilities include issuing licenses, inspections, awareness raising,

education of biosecurity officers and maintaining a 24/7 response capability.

• 30 employees with a background in microbiology, medicine, political science and

experience from police or defense.

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Centre for Biosecurity and Biopreparedness

Threat analysis Biosecurity Early warning Field investigation Analysis Expert support Counter- measures

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Steps in assistance activities

• Preliminary contact: international biosecurity course
• Evaluation of needs: survey
• Developing a legal framework
• Building the system: players, rules, procedures
• Implementation phase

Why bio io

• security?

Allow technology development

Prevent mass destruction Protect science against misuse Comply with international

• bligations

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Preliminary contact

Evaluating the needs

• Survey in Kenya : 86 participating laboratories
• Gaps (awareness, biosecurity culture, physical security,…) and dual-use potential
• Results publically-available
• Also done in Denmark in 2006

Bork, K. H. et al. 2007. Biosecurity in

• Scandinavia. Biosecur.
• Bioterror. 5:62-71.

Legislative framework: what to control

License required prior to work

• Biological agents
• Delivery devices
• Equipment
• Microbiological laboratories
• Technology (know how)

Annex 1 of the EU Council Regulation (EC) No 388/2012 Australia Group common control list

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”Related materials: ...technology … which could be used for the design, development, production or use of … biological weapons and their means of delivery” UNSCR 1540

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Biosecurity

Immaterial elements Physical elements

Act of Parliament & Executive orders

• Security installations
• Access control
• Stock management
• Transport security
• Biopreparedness
• Biosecurity culture
• Information security
• Technology control
• Ethical code

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Building the system

Danish Partnership Program on Biosecurity in East Africa

Objective: To mitigate the risk of harmful biological incidents by supporting the establishment of national biosecurity and biopreparedness systems, including legal frameworks and capacities. Geographical focus: Kenya Thematic focus: Biosecurity and biopreparedness. Danish partners: MFA, MoD and MoH. Kenyan partners: MoEST, NACOSTI, MoH, CBRN Team. International partners: EU/UNICRI, US. Funding: the Danish Peace and Stabilization Fund – a funding mechanism promoting a whole-of-government approach to stabilization in fragile areas.

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The East African biosecurity risk

Risk of infectious disease as a result of biological incidents, deliberate

• r accidental - could severely affect peace and stability at national,

regional and international levels:

• Wide prevalence of biological dual-use material
• Limited measures to prevent unauthorized access, loss, theft, misuse,

diversion or intentional release

• Regional instability, social unrest and hostile groups with regional
• utreach such as al-Shabaab
• Kenya is a hub for regional and international air travel, thus

constituting a risk for rapid global spread.

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Status

Activities/results so far:

• Survey and gap analysis of biosecurity in 86 Kenyan facilities
• Publication of An efficient and practical approach to Biosecurity
• Established working relationship with NACOSTI, responsible for

coordinating the bioscience policy and bill

• Support to the legislative process, including facilitation of 7 drafting

retreats, development of a work plan, policy brief and costing plan

• Draft biosecurity policy and bill
• Training of key personnel

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Way forward

Current engagements:

• Legal and regulatory framework
• Biosecurity capacity building
• Biosecurity awareness raising
• Biopreparedness capacity building
• Regionalization, including a regional conference on biosecurity

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International initiatives

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• Global Health Security Agenda :

Action Package Prevent-3

• European Biosecurity Regulators Forum

International Biosecurity Courses

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• Training course on the establishment of a national biosecurity

system

• Based on the book: an efficient and practical approach to

biosecurity

• Rationale, legislation, inspections,

technology control, biopreparedness