REGIONAL WORKSHOP FOR AFRICA PREPARING FOR THE EIGHTH REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONFERENCE Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 13 14 September 2016 STRENGTHENING NATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION Austin Ochieng Aluoch (BMAK) 1
http://www.nacosti.go.ke/ 2
Efforts to have a Domestic Legal Framework on Biosafety and Biosecurity started in 2011 Through the NBTWC Committee Committee produced Biosecurity Policy and Bill 2013 marked the beginning of the National Bioscience ill and Policy The Biosecurity bill was merged with the Biosciences bill But this resulted to various challenges and to date the biosciences bill has not been presented in parliament Current proposal is to merge the Biosciences bill with the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) which is under review?? 3
Kenya has been a consistent participant of the BWC intersessional process NFP manages the CBMs in Kenya and submits them to the ISU annualy Kenya is also a signatory to the WHO s International Health regulations (IHR) Since 2005 (One Health) We have been implementing the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response [IDSR] strategy since 1998. 4
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National Public Health Laboratories is a division of the Ministry of Health Key function of NPHLS include: Coordination of MOH Biosafety & Biosecurity activities/implementation Ensuring compliance to Biosafety & Biosecurity standards and practices Technical support to counties and implementing partners Policy guidelines development 6
A survey of public health labs in Kenya conducted From December 2015 to February 2016 Supported through cooperation with Denmark Development of a BSS training programme Over 4000 laboratory Health Care Workers in various counties trained on BSS 7
Over 100 trainer trained through BSS ToTs 6 Biomedical engineers trained Biosafety Cabinet Certification Supported the accreditation of medical laboratories in the counties National HIV Reference Laboratory, Bungoma, Bomu-TB Lab, KEMRI TB Lab have been successfully accredited Several other labs have applied for accreditation by KENAS 8
Weak Pathogen repository and inventory systems Weak chemical safety and inventory management, and disposal systems Limited training of other Cadres of Health Care Workers e.g. medical doctors Lack of training in regions not currently covered by PEFPAR- funded partners 9
Global outbreaks of infectious disease - outbreaks represent unpredictable sources of dangerous pathogens e.g. Ebola outbreak in West Africa Increased threat from radical/terrorist groups - e.g. medical student who attempted to access anthrax samples from a hospital (Reported May4, 2016) Lack of clear communication channels between the law enforcement and the Public health in case of bioterrorism attacks or malicious use of disease Limited data on the number of laboratories and list of biological agents and suppliers in Kenya 10
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BMAK was registered in 2011 as a non-profit professional association aimed at bringing together professionals involved in biosafety and the emerging area of national Biosecurity in Kenya BMAK is a member state of the International Federation of Biosafety Associations (IFBA) BMAK Mission To enhance the knowledge and understanding of biosafety and biosecurity issues in Kenya To advocate for the implementation of sound biorisk management practices 12
50 participants trained on Biorisk Management 13
31 Participants from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Ethiopia trained 30 passed the IFBA Professionals exam on Biorisk Management 45, the number of IFBA professionals in Biorisk management member from Africa BMAK will henceforth administer the IFBA Professional Biorisk Management Exam in Kenya 14
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Sharing of strategies/best practices that may be adopted by State parties in Africa to put the much needed BSS legislation in place In Kenya, involvement of the NBA and review of the Biosafety Act 2005 Deliberate involvement of Biorisk and Biosafety associations by the ISU in raising awareness about BWC, CBMs and BSS E.g. Sponsorship Programme More collaborative workshops between NFPs from the African Region, focusing on universalization and domestication of the convention 17
Establishment of a point of contact to coordinate the capacity building assistance for state parties E.g. establishment of CBRN Committees that may be used to coordinate national assistance efforts Create of a BWC Education and Outreach Board or similar body to raise awareness Encourage NFPs to have websites or webpages dedicated to BWC Encourage more professionals to take the IFBA Competence Exam Development of a harmonized curricular for BSS at the various levels of education Development of a global code of conduct /ethics for BSS 18
Verification With the unimpressive number of CBM submissions, it may be time to revisit the issue of verification at the 8th Review Conference. 19
UNODA, EU and AU Dr. Patrick Okanya, National Secretary, (BMAK) okanyap@gmail.com Kennedy K. Yatich Head, Biosafety and Biosecurity Program, National Public Health Laboratory Services, Ministry of Health, Kenya. kenyatich@gmail.com Roselida Owuor National Commission of Science Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) roselidaowuor@yahoo.com Josyline Kaburi Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) jcirindi@yahoo.com 20