Funded by the European Union
NIM Co-Programme Directors Thomas Brown and Angela Woodward participated in the Closing Conference in the framework European Union Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence Initiative Project 81 BIOSEC Enhanced Biosecurity in South East Asia in Hanoi, Vietnam from 25-27 February 2025.
During the conference, NIM staff led training sessions on legal frameworks and international obligations related to biosecurity. The aim of the training workshop was as follows: review project activities, identify successes and make recommendations for future projects; to provide a forum for exchanges of information on the management of high-consequence pathogens; and to provide training on legal and oversight frameworks as well as the security of facilities.
The NIM team has been leading Work Package 2 of Project 81 to ‘Review national legislation and guidelines in compliance with relevant international obligations in the area of biosecurity and contribute to their effective enforcement’. Under this work package, NIM has provided legislative assistance in relation to the Biological Weapons Convention, the International Health Regulations and other international instruments related to biosecurity.
The project has been delivered in partnership with and supporting efforts in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. VERTIC forms part of a pan-European consortium led by Sustainable Criminal Justice Solutions Europe (SCJS, Belgium) and including Public Health England (PHE), the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco and the European CBRNE Center Umeå University.
For more information on Project 81, see the project website here.
BWC EU CBRN CoE National Implementation
