Biosafety and Policy: Frontiers and Challenges

The landscape of evolving challenges from emerging infectious diseases is shaped by multifactorial interactions. Factors like climate change, demographic shifts, conflict and enormous cost of the pandemic on the economic health of developing nations are some of the factors. Biosafety and biosecurity are integral and essential elements factoring in National health preparedness and capacity strengthening. The conventional approach towards public health challenges is thus being reshaped from pandemic lessons-learned. The regulatory frameworks for biosafety by countries are being integrated globally through formal and informal mechanisms. The global commitments are firmly shaping up. A collated effort in addressing issues of antimicrobial resistance, emerging zoonotic infections, surveillance, developing and strengthening national laboratory systems are need-hour factors in the challenge. The problem identification and solving are being addressed through more innovative mechanism viz. the “Action Package Concept” of the Global Health Security Agenda. The UN sustainable developmental goals being central to the objective. The talk will review the evolution of biological threats, elements of biosafety policy framework with relevant examples and look at future directions in this challenging area from a national and international context.