The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) organized a workshop for stakeholders from federal and local entities – particularly municipal authorities – and academia to review and update the National Biosecurity Strategy.
Held from November 25 to 29, the workshop explored the strategy’s deliverables and challenges to determine its strengths and areas of improvement. To ensure compliance with global standards, the updated strategy was benchmarked against its equivalents in countries that have high biosecurity levels.
Attendees also received a briefing on the International Health Regulations (IHR), a legal instrument that seeks to assist the global community in preventing and responding to acute public health risks.
Furthermore, the four-day workshop included brainstorming sessions to assess current biological hazards and highlight new ones, as well as to identify the stages of the action plan that will help implement the objectives of the updated strategy.
On the last day, the attendees examined the workshop outcomes and discussed the next steps.
The Cabinet adopted the National Biosecurity Strategy in 2013 with the aim of reducing the risk of biological agents, building capacities for detecting biological hazards, and dealing with biological accidents and threats that adversely affect the UAE community and economy.
The strategy focuses on the collaboration and coordination among all relevant entities across every stage of addressing biological hazards. In addition, it aspires to qualify the national workforce and engage the community to achieve the objectives of the UAE Vision 2021 in developing integrated biosecurity mechanisms that enhance the country’s overall safety and security.