Abstract
The objectives of this study were to identify and assess the impact of capacity-building biosafety initiatives and programs that have taken place in the broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) region between 2001 and 2013, to highlight gaps that require further development, and to suggest sustainable ways to build cooperative regional biosafety opportunities. A cross-sectional study was conducted with two aspects (1) thorough desktop review of literature for all biosafety/biosecurity-related activities in the study countries, such as seminars, conferences, workshops, policy documents, technology transfer, sustained scientific endeavors between countries, etc. and (2) an online survey of scientists in countries in the region to get first-hand information about biosafety and biosecurity initiatives and gaps in their country. A total of 1832 initiatives of biosafety/biosecurity were recorded from 97 web links; 70.68% (n = 1295) initiatives were focused on raising general awareness among the scientific community about biosafety/biosecurity/biocontainment. The most frequent areas of interest were biorisk management in biomedical and biotechnology laboratories 13% (n = 239), followed by living modified organisms (LMOs) 9.17% (n = 168). Hands-on training accounted for 2.67% (n = 49) of initiatives. Online survey results confirmed desktop review findings; however, the response rate was 11%.
Highlights
Recent advances in biotechnology have provided a quantum leap in the application of biological sciences in all fields, including health, agriculture, environment, and energy development
It was encouraging to note that every country listed in the broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) region had some initiatives related to biosafety/biosecurity between 2001 and 2013 (Figure 1)
The topics most commonly addressed in these awareness sessions included basic biosafety, biosecurity, biocontainment, and biorisk management in biomedical and biotechnology laboratories (6–39)
Summary
Recent advances in biotechnology have provided a quantum leap in the application of biological sciences in all fields, including health, agriculture, environment, and energy development. Biosafety Initiatives in BMENA Region and well-developed relevant engineering and scientific methods for containment, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery as well as human behavior and performance science in other fields, such as aviation, nuclear power, petrochemicals, etc. This concern has been raised globally and has intensified since the events of 9/11 and the anthrax-in-the-mail terrorism of 2001. This has led to international focus on means for combating bioterrorism, especially in countries with the backdrop of disturbed geopolitical situations (1–5)
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