The deputy regional director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Richard Munang, says biosecurity threats cost Africa over US$ 420 billion.

Mr Munang disclosed this on Tuesday in Lagos at the eighth African Conference on Health and Biosecurity, with the theme, “Strengthening Health Security and Mitigating Biological Threats in Africa”.

The Lagos State government, through its Ministry of Health, partnered with a non-governmental organisation to organise the conference.

Mr Munang said the urgency for solutions is at an all-time high, and the urgency for one-health cannot be overemphasised.

He also disclosed that Africa’s biosecurity and biosafety capacity is scored at only 32 per cent.

The deputy regional director said the one health approach, which integrates human, environmental, animal, planet and health, were critical to averting, managing and treating biosafety risks on the continent.

He said climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation aggravate infectious diseases in Africa and globally.

“Our UNEP work on climate action, nature action and pollution action offer a strategic pathway for One Health.”

He said the contribution of the environment as a solution to biosecurity threats cuts across controlling temperatures which catalyse the growth of pathogens, restoring degraded areas to minimise the impact of habitat loss that increases the risk of pathogens transfer to humans.

Akin Abayomi, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, said the conference seeks to develop a biosecurity roadmap and increase the African continent’s resilience towards building the capacity to deal with pathogens of high consequence.

“A city like Lagos is vulnerable to biological threats making it important for us to improve its preparedness against biological threats and build appropriate infrastructure to manage and mitigate dangerous pathogens of high consequence,” he explained.

According to him, the continents have continued to work to build the appropriate infrastructure, train and improve the capacity of appropriate personnel to be able to manage dangerous pathogens such as Ebola, Lassa fever, COVID, yellow fever, Marburg fever and any agent that is considered to be a pathogen of high consequence.

(NAN)