Regulation and Policy
Global Regulatory and Policy Guidance Documents
Biotechnology Regulation in Africa
African countries are at various levels of establishing, implementing, and strengthening biosafety frameworks with laws and regulations to ensure responsible use of these new technologies.
Implementing robust biosafety measures is as required by the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety of the Conventional of Biological Diversity (CBD), which all African countries except Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, and South Sudan have ratified, is essential to prevent unintended consequences and to manage potential risks associated with gene technologies.
- All Maps
- GM CFT’s and Cultivation
- GM Mosquito Biocontrol Projects in Africa
- Africa Regulatory
Articles
Biosafety regulatory frameworks in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and Sweden and their potential impact on international R&D collaborations
Ongu I, Olayide P, Alexandersson E, Mugwanya Zawedde B, Eriksson D, GM Crops Food, 14(1):1-17. 2023-12-31 00:00:00.The African continent should consider a harmonized consultative and collaborative effort towards coordinated policy and regulatory guidelines across the fields of biotechnology
Tlou Samuel Masehela, Eugenia Barros, Front Bioeng Biotechnol, 20207:29:00. 2023-06-07 00:00:00.CRISPR: challenges to South African biotechnology law
S. Pillay and D.W. Thaldar, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2018-11-01 00:00:00.Biotech Innovation in South Africa: Twenty Years in Review
Donrich W. Jordaan, Biotechnology Law Report, Vol. 35, No. 1. 2016-02-12 00:00:00.Developing a Biosafety Law: Lessons from the Kenyan Experience
Karembu M, Otunge D., and Wafula D., ISAAA AfriCenter, Nairobi, Kenya, 2010-06-15 00:00:00.Towards a smart biosafety regulation: The case of Kenya
Ann Kingiri and Seife Ayele, Environ. Biosafety Res. 8, 2009-06-15 00:00:00.Status of biotechnology in Africa: challenges and opportunities
Makinde, Diran, Luke Mumba, and Aggrey Ambali, Asian Biotechnology and Development Review, 11.3. 2009-01-10 00:00:00.The Development of Biosafety regulation in Africa in the context of The Cartagena Protocol Legal and Administrative Issues
Patricia Kameri-Mbote, 11/1 Review of European Community and International Environmental Law, 2002-11-01 00:00:00.Media
Optimizing Cost-Effective Larval Diets for Mass Rearing of Aedes Mosquitoes in Vector Control Programs
34810Li, Q., Wei, T., Sun, Y., Khan, J., & Zhang, D., Insects, 16. 2025-05-04 15:43:50.
Larval diet composition significantly influences the developmental, physiological, and reproductive traits of Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti, major arbovirus vectors. Optimizing larval nutrition is essential for mass-rearing programs supporting the sterile insect technique and incompatible insect technique. This study evaluated the effects of three larval diets on key fitness traits, including pupation rate, male flight ability, adult longevity, female fecundity, pupal size, and wing length, which are critical for the success of SIT and IIT programs. (2) Methods: Ae. albopictus (GT strain) and Ae. aegypti (AEG strain) were reared on three diets with varying protein sources: diet 1 (≈1.23 dollars/kg; porcine liver/shrimp/yeast = 6:3:1), the IAEA-recommended diet; diet 2 (≈1.78 dollars/kg; bovine liver/shrimp/yeast = 6:3:1), a modified IAEA diet; and diet 3 (≈0.55 dollars/kg; tortoise food), a low-cost laboratory formulation. Life history traits were assessed using standardized protocols, and data were analyzed with ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test. (3) Results: Diet 3 consistently improved pupation rates, adult longevity, and male flight ability compared with diet 2. Mosquitoes reared on diets 1 and 3 exhibited significantly larger pupae and longer wings, while diet 2 performed sub-optimally. Adult eclosion rates (~100%) remained high across all diets. Male flight ability varied by species, with Ae. albopictus performing best on diet 1 and Ae. aegypti on diet 3. Female fecundity was diet-dependent, with diet 1 favoring Ae. albopictus and diet 3 benefitting Ae. aegypti. Longevity was highest in mosquitoes reared on diet 3, with a median survival of 19.5 days for GT males and 37.5 days for GT females. (4) Conclusions: Diet 3 emerged as the most cost-effective option, enhancing key fitness traits essential for SIT and IIT. Future studies should refine nutrient formulations and validate findings under field conditions to optimize mass-rearing efficiency in vector control.
Biotechnology and Biosafety in the Biodiversity Convention and its Protocols
33000GeneConvene Global Collaborative, 2022-04-23 09:35:50.
Dr. Piet van der Meer provides a clear exposition of the history of the Convention on Biological Diversity and puts in the the broader context of the development of biotechnology beginning with the first recombinant DNA containing organisms in 1972. He also describes and explains how the CBD is governed, its procedures and its relationship to current biosafety frameworks.
Regional Development of Regulatory Policies on Gene Drives and Risk Assessment
33090GeneConvene Virtual Institute, 2020-10-28 13:30:07.
In this Webinar Dr. Martin Lema discusses how well biosafety regulatory frameworks in Latin America can accommodate new genetic technologies such as Gene Drive.
Overview of Regulatory Frameworks Covering Gene Drives Oct 21 2020
33087GeneConvene Virtual Institute, 2020-10-26 13:25:57.
These are two webinars presented around the topic of an Overview of Regulatory Frameworks Covering Gene Drives. The presenters were Ms. Wadzi Mandivenyi from the Convention on Biological Diversity and Dr. Marion Law from the World Health Organization. These presentations were given on October 21, 2020.
