Expert warns African countries against bio-risk
NAN-AE-7
Biosafety
By Ebere Agozie
Abuja, Nov. 9, 2016 (NAN) Mr Paul Keese, an expert in Biosafety Management, has advised the African countries to understand the complex nature of Bio-risk with a view to prevent the underlying common features.
Keese, a former Biosafety Manager, Australia’s Biosafety Regulatory Agency, gave this advice in Abuja on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said that Bio-risk is a persistent, pernicious constraint on food security in sub – Saharan Africa.
According to him, sub-Saharan Africa is not only the birth place of civilisation, but also a hotbed for emerging bio-risks.
“From the cradle to the grave, African lives are besieged by organisms that cause harm such as weeds, pests and pathogens and these undesirable organisms reduce potential crop production by about 50 per cent.
“Also the all-pervasive familiarity of biological threats with crippling significance can cause pneumonia and diarrhoea, which account for about 40 per cent of deaths among young children in Africa.
“Even with awareness and vigilance, the evolutionary elasticity of pests and pathogens to rapidly overcome our control measures makes the battle relentless, “ he said.
He said that growing global trade, mass movement of people and uncertainty from climate change has only exacerbated the challenge.
“Even organisms designed to provide part of the solution such as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or Biocontrol agents pose controversial risks.
“Therefore, Bio-risks are recognised across many sectors, including Biosecurity and trade which is biothreats from the movement of people, goods, plants and animals, which are subject to increasing international concern.
“Also in Public health, parasites and pathogens have major impacts on the health of people, including significant indirect costs through loss of productivity.
“So in food safety, the importance of food and feed contamination by fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens continues to be underestimated. “
Keese, however, said that Biosafety from modern biotechnology such as GMOs, synthetic biology and other emerging technologies offered opportunities to improve the lives of Africans but may also have unintended adverse effects.
“Treatment of Bio-risk in Africa is usually left to those least supported, whether this is the small scale farmer whose meagre production is often overwhelmed by pests and pathogens.
“Or the public health worker who is confronted with a plethora of diseases,“ the expert said.
He, therefore, advised that since Bio-risk was multifaceted problems, there was need to understand the complex nature of Bio-risk, discern the underlying common features and advocate practical solutions relevant to the African context. (NAN)
EPA/MOL/AFA
Edited by Mustapha Lamidi/Felix Ajide
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