The Regional Training And Certification Program For Biosafety And Biosecurity Professionals

The lack of Biosafety and Biosecurity capacity among the African Union (AU) Member States is well documented in the World Health Organization (WHO) Joint External Evaluation (JEE) technical assessment conducted between 2016 and 2019, and the Global Health Security Index (GHSI) report of 2021. In response, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), in collaboration with AU Member States, in 2019 launched the Regional Biosafety and Biosecurity Initiative (BBI).

Africa CDC, working with AU Member developed a Regional Training and Certification Program for Biosafety and Biosecurity Experts. The four areas of specialty identified and developed are:

• Selection, installation, maintenance, and certification of biological safety cabinets
• Biorisk management
• Design and maintenance of facilities handling high-risk pathogens
• Biological waste management

Graduates of the training program will receive recognition and certification.

* This resource is also available in Arabic, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.