Context
Natural outbreaks of disease, bioterrorist attacks or the unintentional release of deadly pathogens that can potentially be used as weapons can have devastating effects. To counteract biological risks such as these and to contribute to the G7 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, the German Federal Foreign Office (AA) launched the German Biosecurity Programme in 2013. It is now in its second phase and is to be extended to 2022. The programme is part of the German Government’s preventive security policy and contributes to the implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).
Objective
Awareness and minimisation of risks posed by highly pathogenic agents, including potential misuse for terrorist purposes, is improved.
Approach
The German Biosecurity Programme is jointly implemented by GIZ, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), the German Federal Research Institute for Animal Health (Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, FLI) and the Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology (IMB). The programme raises the partners’ capacity to prevent and respond to biological risks and to detect and diagnose highly pathogenic agents. It is also building intersectoral and regional networks on biosecurity risks and supports efforts to comply with international biosafety and biosecurity standards. The programme is furthermore helping to raise awareness of biosecurity and non-proliferation and promote the sharing of scientific information on biosecurity issues. Sixteen projects in more than 12 partner countries are contributing to the objectives of the biosecurity programme.
In the priority countries of Sudan, Morocco and Tunisia, the project works closely with the Robert Koch Institute, focusing on activities in the following areas:
• Raising awareness of biological risks and measures in the field of biosecurity
• Networking of stakeholders to prevent, detect and respond to biological hazards
• Strengthening the capacities of state institutions at the interface between health and security
The project complements the biosecurity activities of the specialist institutes IMB, FLI, BNITM and RKI in the partner countries Georgia, Kazakhstan, Sudan and Ukraine. It assists partner institutions in situ with operations and content, thus contributing to the efficient implementation of all measures and making the partners more effective.
Together with the RKI, the project assists the Federal Foreign Office with biosecurity programme management and public relations from a Programme Office that functions as a central liaison unit.
Results
In Sudan a national network has been developed to enable Sudanese laboratories to exchange on issues of biosecurity. Furthermore, the programme has drawn up national biosecurity guidelines in cooperation with state health agencies. A strategy for implementing these guidelines has been developed together with Sudanese health institutions, in addition to which a cross-discipline exercise has served to test and improve existing emergency plans. To reduce the risk of an outbreak of infectious disease in laboratories, the project is assisting efforts to develop a reporting system for laboratory incidents and is promoting awareness-raising measures for laboratory staff and administrations.
In Tunisia the programme has in recent years supported work to develop an emergency plan for sites representing a biological hazard. The plan has been tested and assessed in a several simulation exercises. It is aimed at improving preventive measures and response capacities in relation to biological hazards and helps improve networking between the responsible actors. To implement the plan, the programme is assisting in the development of a cross-disciplinary blended learning curriculum (a combination of face-to-face teaching and e-learning). In addition to this, since 2016 GIZ has supported work by its Tunisian partners to draw up and implement a national risk and crisis communication strategy that would enable the partners to communicate with the media and the public rapidly, appropriately and effectively in the event of a biologically hazardous situation.
In Morocco, the programme has developed a national risk and crisis communication strategy and guidelines for implementation together with the Ministry of Health. Targeted communication with population groups and coordination between authorities can help stem the negative consequences of a serious biological incident. Moreover, GIZ is supporting efforts by its Moroccan partners to create a national operations centre to provide a coordinated, intersectoral response to health crises or biological emergencies. For this purpose, corresponding procedural standards were agreed with the Moroccan partners in 2019 and part-tested. Moreover, over 550 nurses, students and teaching staff in medicine faculties across Morocco were sensitised to biological risks.