The Regional Biosafety and Biosecurity Initiative (BBI) was launched by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) — together with the Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Centre (AU-PANVAC) and the AU Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) — in collaboration with African Union Member States and their Regional Collaborating Centres. Supported by the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) and Global Affairs Canada, it aims to strengthen the biosafety and biosecurity systems of all 55 AU Member States using a One Health approach across the human, animal, plant and environmental sectors.
The initiative responds to the reality that biological incidents — whether accidental or deliberate — can cross borders within days. It is anchored in international obligations including the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005), the Biological Weapons Convention, and UN Security Council Resolution 1540.
The five-year review & 2026–2030 strategy
In 2025, Africa CDC and ASLM completed a five-year review of the BBI, charting a new continental strategy. Key achievements included operationalising five regional multisectoral technical working groups, securing an African Union–endorsed legal framework, and certifying more than 400 professionals through the regional training and certification programme.
The 2026–2030 strategy prioritises national technical working groups and professional associations, sustainable domestic funding to reduce external dependence, stronger national legal and regulatory frameworks, expanded laboratory biosafety capacity and pathogen control, and secure, ethical research and development practices.