Published 2024-06-01
“…In Pakistan, this critical need highlights the urgent requirement for robust biosafety frameworks, where establishing and maintaining these practices remains a formidable challenge.2
Pakistan has demonstrated its commitment to biosafety as a responsible state by being a party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).3 The Ministry of Climate
Change, in coordination with National Food Security & Research and National Health Services Regulations & Coordination, is responsible for implementing the CPB.4 Additionally, under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) enacted the Pakistan Biosafety Rules in April 2005 to regulate Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).5 To facilitate compliance with these rules, the National Biosafety Guidelines were issued in October 2005.6 In April 2006, the National Biosafety Centre was established within the Pak-EPA to further strengthen the biosafety regulatory framework.7 Risk assessment standards and procedures are set by the National Biosafety
Committee to ensure the safe handling and regulation of GMOs in Pakistan.8
However, despite these steps in the right direction, many laboratories across Pakistan, even in major cities, exhibit significant gaps in biosafety practices, including inadequate emphasis on laboratory biosecurity, absence of occupational health programs, and ineffective risk assessment strategies.9,10 A situational analysis by the national laboratory working group revealed key issues in national laboratory biosafety and biosecurity management, such as the absence of a centralized Biosafety and Biosecurity Management System, inadequate staff training and competency assessments, poor maintenance of protective equipment, improper waste disposal management, and insufficient fire prevention measures.11
In recent years, there has been positive
progress in biosafety practices in Pakistan, significantly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. …”
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