Establishment of a National Inventory of Dangerous Pathogens in the Republic of Uganda.

One of the challenges of global biosecurity is to protect and control dangerous pathogens from unauthorized access and intentional release. A practical and feasible option to protect life science institutes against theft and sabotage, and secure their biological materials against misuse, is to establish a national electronic database with a comprehensive overview of the locations of all controlled dangerous pathogens in a country. This national database could be used as an instrument to secure and account for dangerous pathogens in a country, but it could also assist in establishing a biosecurity assessing and monitoring system for laboratories that work with these controlled biological agents. The Republic of Uganda is one of the first countries, prompted by the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Joint External Evaluation (JEE), to implement a national electronic database that assembles information collected from relevant Ugandan laboratories. This Ugandan Inventory of Dangerous Pathogens is different from an institute-specific pathogen inventory system, as it is intended to store the information collected from laboratories in the country working with dangerous pathogens in 1 centralized secure location. The Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) has coordinated the implementation of the Ugandan national inventory. The inventory was recognized by the WHO JEE as contributing to Uganda's developed capacities regarding biosafety and biosecurity. This article describes the steps in implementing Uganda's National Inventory of Dangerous Pathogens. In addition, it presents a straightforward approach that can be adapted by other countries that aim to enhance their biosecurity capacities.

Readiness for Environmental Release of Genetically Engineered (GE) Plants in Uganda.

Research and development of genetically engineered (GE) crops in Uganda was initiated in 2003 with the launch of a national agricultural biotechnology center at Kawanda in central Uganda. The country has now approved 17 field experiments for GE plants, which were first established in 2006 with the planting of a banana confined field trial that evaluated performance of plants modified to express resistance to black sigatoka disease. Researchers leading the GE experiments have indicated that some of these GE plants are ready for environmental release that is moving beyond confined field testing toward commercialization. The government of Uganda, over the past two decades, has supported processes to put in place an effective national biosafety framework including establishment of a supportive policy environment; creation of a clear institutional framework for handling applications and issuance of permits; building critical capacity for risk analysis; and providing options for public engagement during decision-making. Uganda is ready to make a biosafety decision regarding environmental release of GE plants based on the level of capacity built, progress with priority GE crop research in the country, and the advancement in biosafety systems. Enactment of a national biosafety law that provides for a coordinated framework for implementation by the relevant regulatory agencies will strengthen the system further. In addition, product developers need to submit applications for biosafety approval for environmental release of GE crops so that mechanisms are tested and improved through practice.