Africa’s expanding laboratories outpace biosecurity safeguards

New health security index warns that weak oversight of dual-use research and biological materials in Africa could turn growing biotechnology capacity into a liability.

The 2026 Africa Health Security Index shows that Africa’s rapidly expanding laboratory and biotechnology capacity is not being matched by the safety and security systems needed to prevent accidents or the misuse of dangerous biological materials, according to a new continental assessment.

The index, published on Wednesday, has found that the continent’s average biosecurity score was only 14.9 out of 100, while biosafety scored 18.2.

The index raises alarm over how African countries lack proper oversight of dual-use research of concern—legitimate scientific work that could also be used to cause harm, with the continent receiving an average score of just 1.9 out of 100 points for responsible science being done around such research.

“While new science gives us better tools to catch outbreaks early, those same advances also make it easier for dangerous biological materials to end up in the wrong hands,” said Judy Omumbo, an epidemiologist and head of partnerships and mobilisation at the Science for Africa Foundation.

Africa has vastly expanded its laboratory systems for researching pathogens and manufacturing vaccines in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic, but experts warn that governance and oversight have not kept pace, increasing the risk of the accidental release or deliberate misuse of pathogens.

The increase in biotechnology capacity on the continent could lead to dangerous pathogens or toxins getting released from these labs, “posing risks of accidental or deliberate misuse,” said Hayley Severance, deputy vice-president for global biological policy and programmes at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, during a media briefing on the index.

She said that the 2026 Africa Health Security Index shows that biosecurity has increased on the continent, rising from six out of 100 points in 2021 to 14.9 in 2026, but that these improvements are “not being made fast enough” as the continent’s capacity to conduct increasingly sophisticated research is advancing rapidly.

The increased research capacity has allowed African countries to be better able to detect disease outbreaks, sequence pathogens and develop vaccines, diagnostics and treatments, such as for the ongoing Ebola outbreak in parts of the continent. The report says that this growing biological research should grow alongside robust systems of safety and security for storing, using and transporting biological materials, as well as personnel screening and oversight of research that could be repurposed for harmful uses.

During Covid-19, African countries invested heavily in new laboratories and diagnostic capacity, with the index showing that 76% of countries now have a national laboratory subject to external quality-assurance review, compared with 58% in 2021. Fifty-six per cent now have nationwide specimen-transport systems, up from 19% in 2021.

Yet only 10 countries have implemented national biosafety legislation or regulations, while 14 have established biosecurity legislation or regulations.

Wilmot James, a senior adviser at the Brown University Pandemic Centre and former member of Parliament in South Africa, said many laboratories established during Covid-19 now needed additional security improvements.

“During Covid-19, the number of labs that have been built in Africa expanded massively, and many of them now have to be retrofitted with upscaled biosecurity systems,” he said.

He added that, “There’s training that needs to be done. Those are long-term things, but clearly we need to train the next generation of people to populate the system as a whole.”

The index recommends that every future investment in infectious-disease research and pandemic preparedness should include dedicated money for biosecurity, biosafety, and assessing the risks that come with dual-use research of concern.

“All investments in research and preparedness must include biosecurity and biosafety resources and training,” James said. “Capacity without safety and security training is a liability, not an asset.”