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Regional BSBS Legal Framework

The Regional Biosafety and Biosecurity Legal Framework for the African Union Member States (2023) — a harmonised legal basis Member States can domesticate into national legislation.

One Health approach

A harmonised legal basis for the continent

Developed by Africa CDC with the Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Centre (AU-PANVAC) and the AU Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), in collaboration with AU Member States. It responds to capacity gaps identified by the WHO Joint External Evaluation (2016–2019) and the Global Health Security Index.

The framework spans the human, animal, plant and environmental sectors and defines how laboratories and institutions may handle High Consequence Agents and Toxins (HCATs). It was developed through the five Regional Biosafety & Biosecurity Technical Working Groups and endorsed by AU Specialized Technical Committees.

📄 Read the full framework (PDF)

At a glance

  • 📅 Published: March 2023
  • 🌍 Scope: 55 AU Member States
  • 🧩 Structure: 6 regulatory domains
  • 🤝 Approach: One Health, multisectoral
  • ⚖️ Status: Endorsed by AU STCs for domestication
Structure

The six domains

Member States with existing legislation can use these domains as a benchmark; those without can adopt them to build national law.

📄 The full official document is included in this app under resources/. Source: Africa CDC, AU-PANVAC and AU-IBAR — Regional Biosafety and Biosecurity Legal Framework for the AU Member States, March 2023.