Capacity Building
Biorisk Management Training: Promoting A Culture of Safety!
Biorisk Management is the systematic evaluation, mitigation, and control of biological risks in laboratories and research facilities. This involves an array of operations designed to avoid the unintentional and international release or spread of dangerous biological agents, such as bacteria, viruses, or toxins, that might endanger human health, animal health, or the environment. Effective Biorisk Management training develops a culture of safety inside research facilities by instilling in all members of the scientific community a common knowledge of the necessity of risk awareness, hazard mitigation, and responsibility. Training programs that emphasize the importance of safety as an important component of scientific activity, serve to build a vigilant and responsibility mentality that helps both individual researchers and the scientific enterprise as a whole.
Training of research personnel at the Center for Biosecurity and Global Health.
The Center for Biosecurity and Global Health (CeBiGH) handles of hazardous biological agents it was necessary to train its protégé scientists and research assistants in Biorisk Management. Through funding from the Human Capital Development Project, the Centre personnel were trained on the various aspects of Biorisk Management namely:
- Biosafety and Biosecurity regulatory frameworks
- Biorisk program management
- Occupational safety and health
- Hazard identification and safe work practices
- Risk assessment and mitigation
- Biorisk performance evaluation
- Biosecurity and infrastructure
- Biocontainment and Equipment
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Transport of samples and Hazardous equipment
- Decontamination and waste management
- Documents and Records
- Incident and Emergency Management
- Audits and Inspection
The Biorisk Management training program comprised of an average of 2 contact hours a day where lectures were delivered and discussion held. The trainees were also given practical with continuous assessments/assignments. The training was concluded on 19th February 2024 with a final examination set and marked by the Uganda Association of Biorisk Management which also serves as the Uganda Biorisk Management Technical Working group.