March 28, 2022

HSP and the Indonesian Biosafety Association (IBA) Conducted a Workshop to Strengthen Capacity of the Indonesian Academic Research Sector Against Toxins’ Threats

Last week, March 21-24, HSP and the Indonesian Biosafety Association (IBA) conducted a workshop to strengthen capacity of the Indonesian academic research sector against toxins’ threats. The goal of the workshop was to engage non-traditional partners in the academic research sector to introduce security measures that should be taken when working with certain toxins and toxin precursors. All four days of the workshop were full of rich discussion both in the question and answer segments after each presentation and in the breakout rooms. Presentations and discussion topics included public health risks, introductions to low-effort bioterrorism, the Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions, and personnel reliability. Additional discussions included other important biosecurity principles to prevent accidental infection or release and intentional misuse of biological materials including access controls, inventory management, and securely transporting valuable biological materials. On the final day of the workshop, participants joined together to discuss recommendations for improving biosecurity frameworks in various capacities – both within their institution and at the governmental level. IBA was an invaluable partner, and HSP looks forward to continuing this effort to engage non-traditional partners later this year with a workshop for industrial producers and sellers of toxin precursors like castor beans and rosary peas.