In May 2019, Africa CDC launched the Biosafety and Biosecurity Initiative (BBI). Africa CDC released the BBI in response to the WHO Joint External Evaluations (JEE) conducted by African Union (AU) member states between 2016 and 2019 and the 2019 GHSI. Both evaluations demonstrated weak biosafety and biosecurity capabilities amongst the member states. The BBI aimed to strengthen those capabilities in compliance with the International Health Regulations (IHR), the Biological Weapons Convent (BWC), and the United Nations Security Resolution (UNSCR) 1540.  As a part of that effort, Africa CDC planned a series of workshops aimed at identifying regional priorities amongst member states. This report summarizes the process, findings, and proposed next steps that emerged from those workshops.

The following organizations participated in the workshops: Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC), and United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) and Global Affairs Canada Weapons Threat Reduction Program provided resources for the Africa CDC staff hosting the workshops. The participants identified key gaps in Southern Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa, Western Africa, and Northern Africa. These priorities formed the basis for the Africa CDC Biosafety and Biosecurity Five Year Strategic Plan. A table at the end of the document outlines how the 5-Year Plan addresses the identified gaps. The plan and the priorities may be of interest to any regional or international partners with a special interest in capacity building in these areas, and Africa CDC is an excellent example of a regional collaboration. As of September 2021, the guide is only available in English.