RFP No. ASLM/ACDC/BSBS/03/05/24

CLOSING DATE: 20 MARCH 2025

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Background

Accidental and intentional biological risks pose potentially catastrophic consequences to health, security, and political and economic stability. These risks are magnified by rapid technological advances and the potential for terrorist and state interest in weapons of mass destruction. For too long the capacities required to prevent accidental and intentional biological events – biosafety and biosecurity – remain an under‐prioritized part of overall health security. Published World Health Organization Joint External Evaluations (WHO JEE) show that 74% of countries have little to no biosecurity and biosafety capacity. The second iteration of the GHS Index, released in December 2021, found that the global average score for the prevention of the emergence or release of pathogens was a 28.4 out of 100, making it the lowest‐scoring 2021 GHS Index category. In addition, preparedness for globally catastrophic biological events were similarly low. However, the sub‐Saharan African region
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Initiative Implementation

Working with African Union (AU) Member States, Africa CDC coordinated the implementation of the Biosafety and Biosecurity Initiative (BBI) across five broad categories of work to capacitate the continent to better address biosecurity risks from infectious diseases:

1. Establishing and operationalizing five multisectoral and multi‐expert regional biosafety and biosecurity technical working groups
2. Developing an AU‐endorsed biosafety and biosecurity legal framework for use across AU Member States.
3. Establishing a regulatory and certification framework for institutions handling High Consequence Agents and Toxins (HCAT).
4. Establishing a regional training and certification program for biosafety and biosecurity experts.
5. Strengthening AU Member State biosafety and biosecurity capabilities, including through infrastructure support and training and capacity building of National Public Health Institutes and National Reference Laboratories, to prevent, detect, and respond to accidental or deliberate biological events.