Building Regional Resilience: TCTP Participants Complete Biosafety Training at CMR

By Lisper Mokaya

Participants from Eleven Eastern Africa countries who are on a month-long training under the Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) were awarded certificates after successfully completing a one-week intensive training on P3 laboratory biosafety at KEMRI’s Centre for Microbiology (CMR).

The training was held in conjunction with Nagasaki University Institute of Tropical Medicine (NUITM) and aim to build capacity in laboratory biosafety and strengthen preparedness for emerging public health threats.

Presiding over the certificate award ceremony, Deputy Director CMR Dr. Christine Bii, congratulated the twelve participants for their dedication and successful completion of the training. She commended the TCTP initiative for fostering regional collaboration and advancing laboratory safety standards across Africa.

Dr. Bii emphasized that the skills acquired will play a crucial role in ensuring biosafety in high-containment laboratories and in strengthening national and regional capacities to detect, manage, and respond to public health emergencies.

The participants expressed appreciation to KEMRI for providing a platform that promotes knowledge exchange and professional growth. They pledged to apply the lessons learned in their home institutions to enhance biosafety practices and contribute to a safer research environment across the region.

Also Present during the ceremony were NIUTM-KEMRI’s Prof. Shingo Inoue, and other trainers of the program including Dr. Earnest Wandera, Dr. Allan Ole Kwala, Gabriel Miringu, Martha Njoroge and Sarah Mburu.