Laboratory biosafety incidents or misuse of infectious agents can lead to infectious disease outbreaks with devastating health and socio-economic impacts. Professional biosafety and biosecurity practices help prevent these incidents, while strengthening laboratory services and supporting public health systems in the global fight against infectious diseases. Rigorous biosafety and biosecurity standards ensure the development of laboratory systems that better control access to and use of dangerous biological pathogens and better protect human, animal and environmental health globally.

Stephen Lewis, Co-Director AIDS-Free World, delivered the keynote address at IFBA’s International Conference and reminded delegates of the vital value of the work that is done in laboratories worldwide. He stressed the centrality of biosafety to global public health and called for increased attention and resources to be paid to this indispensable issue. Including the targets and objectives of biosafety into the agenda for an AIDS-free generation, the agendas of the World Health Assembly, UN Security Council, G8, G20, and post-2015 Millennium Development Goals should be vigorously pursued. Mr. Lewis concluded his address by acknowledging the important breakthrough that can be attained when it is unmistakably understood that HIV and the major diseases of the world cannot be handled without adequate biosafety and biosecurity measures in place.

Watch a clip from his keynote address on IFBA’s YouTube Channel here.

The IFBA together with our regional biosafety member representatives attended the UN 1540 Resolution meeting held in Wiesbaden, Germany. This represented a unique opportunity for our biosafety associations to attend a conference on the UN 1540 Resolution. The meetings was organised by the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and supported by the German, Norwegian, US and European Governments.

The aim of the conference was to bring together over 25 industry representatives from different sectors of nuclear, biological, chemical, transport and financing to share ideas, experiences and best practices on how industry can play a role in helping meet the UN 1540 objectives. UN 1540 is a United Nations Security Council Resolution unanimously adopted on 28 April 2004 obliging all States to refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, transport, and use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. On April 2011, the UN 1540 mandate was extended until 2021.

IFBA and our member associations were asked to present out activities that support UN 1540 objectives with respect to biological safety and security.  IFBA is working towards establishing collaborative relationship with UNODA and UN 1540 Committee following our participation at this conference.

The IFBA is pleased to welcome the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention (BTWC) Implementation Support Unit (ISU) to our family of observer organizations. The ISU is funded by the States Parties to the Convention and provides administrative support to meetings of the Convention and support to States Parties in implementing their obligations under the BTWC. We welcome the development of this constructive relationship with the ISU and look forward to working together to realize our common goals of biological safety and security.

The BTWC-ISU provided time for NGOs, including the IFBA, to deliver a short statement at the 7th Review Conference held in Geneva in early December 2011.  Looking to the future, the IFBA used this occasion to recognize the unique opportunity that we have in strengthening our engagement and collaboration with BWC stakeholders as an important partner in achieving our complementary goals across the world. Our task is to help ensure that all states have the biosafety, biosecurity and biological non-proliferation knowledge and tools they require. Collaboration with international, regional and national biosafety associations provides a direct channel with those who actually run the facilities that conduct biological research. Through this partnership, our community, which includes countries which are not active participants in the BWC, is an invaluable resource for work related to the convention.

Click here for the IFBA Statement to the 7th Review Conference of the BTWC.

On June 28^th and 29^th, 2012, The International Federation of Biosafety Associations (IFBA) successfully hosted its Second International Conference: Biosafety and Biosecurity: Building Sustainable Capacity, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The conference sought to identify innovative approaches to biosafety and biosecurity that are affordable, practical and sustainable; to raise awareness and highlight the significant benefits of sound practices; to advocate strategies to collectively address urgent gaps and priorities in under‐addressed regions of the world; and, to facilitate collaboration among the African and international biosafety communities.

The conference included three workshops on the following key themes:

  - Biosafety & Biosecurity Advocacy
  - Sustainable Risk-based Biocontainment Guidelines
  - Certification of Biosafety & Biosecurity Professionals

A detailed summary of the conference outcomes can be viewed here.