Biopartnering Aug 29, 2008
In addition, a wide range of support services are offered from biosafety, through GLP immunoassay testing to in vivo studies. Web. (Nature News Service)
San Antonio still pushing for bio-defense facility Aug 26, 2008
She says new technology has helped to ensure better containment at similar labs including an existing Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) lab operated by the Southwest Foundation in the Alamo City. We have had an impeccable safety record, says Patterson about that BSL-4 facility. (San Antonio Business Journal, TX)
Blumenthal tells feds: Plum Island wrong site Aug 22, 2008
Plum Island, in Long Island Sound, now handles biosafety level 3 work, which deals with diseases that affect animals, such as foot-and-mouth disease ... The new facility would be designed to handle biosafety level 4, including diseases that can move from animals to humans. (New Haven Register, CT)
Africa: Science Team Boosts Nutritional Value of Vital Cassava Aug 19, 2008
The transgenic plants then went through a rigorous biosafety approval process in the United States and were tested in model systems -- like human cell lines and sometimes animals -- before they were allowed to be grown outside in field trials ... "Africa is in the process of establishing biosafety regulations for transgenics in most of the countries, Sayre said. Four or five countries, including Kenya and Nigeria, have rules in place, he added, and two have transgenics in commercial... (allAfrica.com)
'NATURE' ARTICLE: Neutralizing antibodies derived from the B cells of 1918 influenza pandemic survivors Aug 19, 2008
The 1918 virus was handled under biosafety level 3 enhanced (BSL3) containment in accordance with guidelines of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (available at ) and in accordance with requirements of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)-CDC select agent program. ELISA. (USA Today -- Tech)
Connecticut to fight proposal for defense lab Aug 15, 2008
The facility would be the only biosafety level 4 animal laboratory in the country and could cost as much as $750 million to build ... Plans for the next-generation National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, slated to go online in 2015, include biosafety labs where scientists in outfits resembling spacesuits would research deadly diseases that can spread to people from animals, including those for which there are no known vaccine ... There are four labs that run at biosafety level 4, which calls for... (Reuters)
Blumenthal Opposes Upgrading Plum Island Biolab Facility Aug 15, 2008
Blumenthal on Thursday said he opposes locating the new lab on Plum Island, a move that would require raising the existing lab's biosafety level to a designation that would allow researchers there to study "microorganisms that pose a high risk of life-threatening disease and for which there is no known vaccine or therapy.". The Plum Island facility is now classified as a biosafety level 3 lab that involves the study of animal-to-animal pathogens. (FOX61, CT)
Possible Plum Island Upgrade Worries Some Shoreline Residents Aug 14, 2008
What is most distressing, Czarzasty said, is that the facility would become what is called a "biosafety level four" lab if the Plum Island Animal Disease Center is upgraded to the proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. Kudwa said the Plum Island facility is now classified as a biosafety level three lab ... Viruses that are potentially lethal to humans could also be probed with the new biosafety level in place. (FOX61, CT)
Plum Island on feds’ list for deadly disease lab Aug 13, 2008
But the facility is old and undersized, and the department is planning to build a new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility that would handle Biosafety Levels 3 and 4, the highest research designations ... Other Biosafety Level 4 research facilities exist in the country, she said, but not with the space for handling large animals. (New Haven Register, CT)
BU seeks OK to start training at biolab Aug 12, 2008
"This training period also will provide an opportunity for the community to learn more about how biosafety research in research labs is carried out and about the many safety protocols in place," said Mark Klempner, principal investigator of the laboratories. The 192,000-square-foot facility on Albany Street has encountered opposition since the university won a national competition in 2003 to open two high-security labs, part of President Bush's defense against biological warfare. (Boston Globe)
Anthrax suspect's charm, madness leave dual legacy Aug 11, 2008
Her father seemed most at home inside Building 1425, where he worked long hours in his office and in the high-security "biosafety level 3" labs where anthrax spores were cultivated. When the anthrax letters surfaced in September and October 2001, killing five people from New York to Florida, including photo editor Bob Stevens in Boca Raton, Ivins was one of 80 scientists assigned to investigate the source of the highly weaponized spores. (Palm Beach Post)
Anthrax case prompts congressional investigation of biodefense labs Aug 9, 2008
But Dingell and Stupak said they were increasingly concerned about all of the nation's so-called Biosafety Level 3 and 4 labs, which research highly infectious viruses and other biological agents that can cause serious injury or death. To date, has identified serious shortcomings in the security at other labs, which are run by universities and civilian government agencies. (Los Angeles Times)
States seeking bio lab Aug 6, 2008
Research: Consortium members already operate biosafety level 3 facilities in Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as a Level 4 facility in Texas ... The site also is close to a USDA biosafety level 3 ag facility and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, which has a biosafety level 4 facility ... KSU's Biosecurity Research Institute has three biosafety level 3 or higher labs. (The Clarion-Ledger)
'No state is more united' Aug 6, 2008
Thompson, who once worked at the CDC's biosafety Level 4 facility in Atlanta, said he independently researched the NBAF proposal and believes there is no health risk to Mississippians. Madison County is home to several state officials who are strong supporters of the lab. (The Clarion-Ledger)
Experts: Security at Bioweapons Labs a 'Nightmare' Aug 5, 2008
Dr. W. Russell Byrne, who worked with Ivins before retiring four years ago, said a mental illness could have escaped detection during the annual physicals required of those working with biosafety level 3 pathogens such as anthrax, but "hiding it from your co-workers that would have been very 00000AE2 , very difficult.". For the thousands of scientists working outside the Pentagon system, the rules are even more lax. (Fox News -- Politics)
Anthrax suspect dies in apparent suicide Aug 1, 2008
"In retrospect, although my concern for biosafety was honest and my desire to refrain from crying Wolf! ... was sincere, I should have notified my supervisor ahead of time of my worries about a possible breach in biocontainment. I thought that quietly and diligently cleaning the dirty desk area would both eliminate any possible (anthrax) contamination as well as prevent unintended anxiety at the Institute.". The Army chose not to discipline Ivins regarding his failure to report the... (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
Foes warn of battle over lab Jul 30, 2008
David Krabbe of Rougemont, dressed as 'Biosafety man,' talks with other lab foes ... "Biosafety man," he explained. (News & Observer)
South Africa: Small Farmers Pushed to Plant GM Seed Jul 22, 2008
But anti-GMO activists, such as the African Centre for Biosafety, are opposed to this approach. "The GM industry is pushing for harmonised legislation because it will make it easier to commercialise varieties of GM crops across countries. But those concerned with biosafety very much doubt if regional harmonisation (of biosafety legislation) would be of advantage," says African Centre of Biosafety director Mariam Mayet. (allAfrica.com)
CDC: Offline generators caused germ lab outage Jul 20, 2008
Without power, the labs can't run negative airflow systems that help contain germs in Biosafety Level 3 labs, such as those in Building 17. CDC officials have said neither workers nor the public was at risk, and that the labs have many other safety systems that don't require electricity. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- World)
After millions spent fixing flaws, UGA says lab ready Jul 18, 2008
Your Connection to the. Web Search powered by YAHOO. (Athens Banner-Herald)
CDC suffers power failure Jul 13, 2008
Recent lab Incidents May 18, 2007: Blasting of granite by a CDC construction contractor sent rock flying, shattering two exterior windows in Building 15, including one on a floor 150 feet away from a maximum-containment Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) lab that work with deadly germs such as Ebola. Rocks also damaged windows at Building 17, about 50 feet away from a high-containment Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) lab ... The building has Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) labs, which need electricity to maintain... (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
China Approves Big Budget for GMO Amid Food Worries Jul 13, 2008
"There is significant growth in budget at between 4 to 5 billion yuan (US$584- 730 million) in the coming years," Lu Baorong, a professor with Fudan University and also a member of the country's biosafety committee with the agriculture ministry, told Reuters ... The programme's approval came ahead of the country's biosafety committee meeting at the end of this month to evaluate the safety of at least one strain of GMO corn. (Planet Ark, United States)
Looking at Yesterday's Genes for Tomorrow's Cures Jul 3, 2008
The keys to controlling transposons to deliver gene therapy will be learning to target them to specific areas of the genome, away from important genes, and disabling the element s jumping ability once it has landed in the desired spot, according to Margy Lambert, a molecular biologist and biosafety specialist at the University of Wisconsin Madison. If those kinks can be worked out, Lambert says, gene delivery by transposons would represent a major advance, because they have the flexibility to... (Scientific American)
READERS WRITE Jun 30, 2008
Careful work practices by the laboratorians themselves and specialized biosafety cabinets offer additional worker and environmental protections ... In addition, the article incorrectly implies that work with smallpox or other Biosafety Level 4 agents would be done in a similar laboratory without sealed doors. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
Newswatch, Police/Fire Jun 24, 2008
Biosafety lab to be discussed ... 5-million Pacific Regional Biosafety Laboratory at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kakaako will be presented at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in Room 314 at the school. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Questions arise over CDC germ lab Jun 22, 2008
Critics question the effectiveness of biosafety standards in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's infectious disease laboratory building in Atlanta ... The CDC's explanations drew skepticism from some biosafety watchdogs especially since this is the same lab building that came under scrutiny by Congress and the Government Accountability Office last summer after the AJC revealed the building experienced an hour-long power outage and backup generators failed to come on ... "I do not... (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Profile of proposed Flora location Jun 21, 2008
The Consortium partners bring a diverse set of capabilities and significant biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) and BSL-4 experience to NBAF operations. MSU has a veterinary school, maintains significant research programs in animal sciences, and operates a BSL-3 facility on its main campus. (The Clarion-Ledger)
Minnesota facility receives clearance to study plant pathogens Jun 19, 2008
The Biosafety Level 3 Plant Pathology Research Facility is the only facility of its kind in the Midwest. Abbreviated as BL3, the biosafety facility will house research on economically important plant diseases caused by pathogens not yet found in Minnesota ... The lab also features triple door entry with limited access, negative air pressure in containment areas, showers, biosafety chemical hoods and much more. (Agri-View, WI)
$1 billion life-sciences bill passes Senate Jun 13, 2008
5 million to Tufts Veterinary Medical School Biosafety Lab, and $9 million for a life-sciences center in Taunton. The state will award another $250 million in tax credits, under the bill, and will allocate another $250 million in grants. (Boston Globe)
Honors (May 30) May 30, 2008
The students earned a certificate in biomedical laboratory science, which qualifies them for job opportunities created by the new laboratories being built on the medical campus, including the Biosafety Laboratory, and the growing biotech industry in Boston. Boston University announced in 2004 that it would contribute $1 million to expand the program and provide funds for 100 Boston residents to attend CityLab Academy. (Watertown TAB & Press, MA)
Most Developing Countries Ill-equipped To Ensure Global Biosafety May 29, 2008
ScienceDaily (May 28, 2008) A two-year UN study of internationally funded training programmes in biotechnology and biosafety warns that as many as 100 developing countries are unprepared to effectively manage and monitor the use of modern biotechnologies, leaving the world community open to serious biosafety threats ... The report, from the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies, says training and management deficiencies in most countries of Africa, Central Asia, Oceania and the... (Science Daily)
Being Stung by Bees: Carol Fassbinder-Orth May 20, 2008
Fassbinder-Orth then started her PhD studying honeybees at Louisiana State, but eventually she decided to switch from diseased bees to diseased birds or "avian immunology." She transferred to the University of Wisconsin Madison, where she could also work at the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, a biosafety level 3 facility. There, she infected birds with the in order to figure out what makes some more susceptible to the disease than others. (Scientific American)
Panel urges review of possible lab threats May 17, 2008
Heather Spurlock Kennealy, an attor ney representing lab foes, said the panel of scientists should consider advising NIH to abandon the centerpiece of the project, a Biosafety Level-4 lab. The project, underwritten by the federal government, includes lower-security labs as well, but it is the Level-4 lab that has stoked neighbors' fears. (Boston Globe)
CDC biolab not ready after 2 1/2 years May 15, 2008
But the suite of Biosafety Level 4 labs designed to contain the world's most dangerous germs still haven't been certified as ready to operate ... Richard Ebright, a biosafety expert at Rutgers University in New Jersey, questioned whether the delay at the CDC's labs is the result of trying to resolve significant problems. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Metro)
Stem Cell Researchers Demonstrate Safety Of Gene Therapy Using Adult Stem Cells May 8, 2008
"After those studies in France, the gene therapy community felt that further biosafety testing was warranted," explained Gerhard Bauer, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of hematology and oncology. "Due to the significantly large number of study animals, our investigation further illuminates the safety of gene therapy using hematopoietic stem cells. It allows us to rest easier with the knowledge that if we insert corrective genes into human bone marrow stem cells and administer... (Science Daily)
Scientists call for biolab safety study May 3, 2008
BU won a competition in 2003 to open one of two new Biosafety Level-4 labs in the country, regarded as cornerstones in the Bush administration's campaign to prepare for possible acts of bioterrorism ... The council stressed its belief that Biosafety Level-4 labs are needed and that they can be operated safely in urban areas ... Federal scientists should also take into account not only work done in the Biosafety Level-4 lab, but also research conducted in lower-security labs that will operate in... (Boston Globe)
Drug Target For The Most Potent Botulinum Neurotoxin Determined May 2, 2008
The research is performed in strict compliance with Brookhaven's Institutional Biosafety Committee regulations according to standards set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only authorized scientists have access to the laboratory. (Science Daily)
Swiss 'dignity' law is threat to plant biology May 2, 2008
As far as plant science is concerned common ethics is already implemented in the form of biosafety, lab standards, labour legislation and so on. No problem at all giving certain legal rights to entities such as biodiversity, ecosystems, eco-resources etc. (Nature News Service)
Coming soon? Apr 22, 2008
The potential threat of terrorism - as well as the ongoing investigation into the biosafety breaches at the Pirbright laboratory in Surrey, which caused last year's outbreak of foot and mouth disease - mean a decision to build a category 4 lab in the King's Cross area by 2013 could cause a political storm as London gears up to host the Olympics. While most experts agree that security and safety at high-risk labs in the UK is very good, there is debate about whether they should be sited in major... (Guardian Unlimited -- Society)
Medicago Completes cGMP Qualification of its Manufacturing Facility Apr 16, 2008
Medicago's facility is made up of 11,000 sq. ft. of Biosafety Level 2 greenhouse spaces for plant growth, as well as 3,000 sq. ft. of cGMP manufacturing suites for plant manipulation, product recovery and purification. About Medicago Inc.. (CCNMatthews Press Releases)
State, federal officials to mark completion of Ricketts Laboratory Apr 4, 2008
A design firm with extensive biosafety experience Flad & Associates, Inc. of Madison, Wis. created the original plans, in collaboration with the scientific team and in consultation with the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others, including local public safety sources. (Univeristy of Chicago Chronicle, IL)
Vaccine for Ebola virus Mar 31, 2008
Ebola virus is a Biosafety Level 4 threat, along with many other haemorrhagic fever viruses, says Dr Sanchez. As well as the difficulty in getting the right staff and facilities, vaccines for viruses like Ebola, Marburg and Lassa fever have been difficult to produce because simple killed viruses that just trigger an antibody response from the blood are not effective. (EurekAlert!)
Kakaako to get new biosafety facility Mar 24, 2008
Researchers will work with exotic bugs and animals in the high-security biosafety facility, which will help with early warning of lethal infectious diseases threatening Hawaii and the Pacific ... The state-of-the-art biosafety level 3 facility will be built near the new John A. Burns School of Medicine at Kakaako ... He still heads the Asia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases but said recruitment is under way for a new Tropical Medicine and Medical Microbiology... (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
For bioterror lab, a long road seen Mar 15, 2008
The centerpiece of the nearly $200 million project is a Biosafety Level-4 lab intended to allow scientists to work with the world's deadliest germs, including Ebola, plague, and anthrax. "We are not here because we want you to rubber-stamp what we have done," Zerhouni told the scientists at the start of a six-hour public session at NIH headquarters in Bethesda, Md. (Boston Globe)
Group sues to halt Livermore microbe research Mar 15, 2008
The new biology lab is known as a Biosafety-Level 3 facility and holds three separate laboratories where highly trained scientists and technicians are protected by high-tech airlocks, laminar-flow hoods and other devices designed to protect them and to prevent any dangerous germs or poisons from escaping into the environment ... The new Biosafety lab, first planned in 2002, is designed so scientists can work with living microbes that cause anthrax, bubonic plague, Q fever, tularemia and many... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Science)
6-year-old dies of influenza, officials say Mar 7, 2008
In November, the National Research Council concluded that the NIH had failed to adequately address the potential risks to the South End and Roxbury neighbors of the Biosafety Level-4 lab if germs escaped from the facility on the Boston Medical Center campus. The panel will hold its first public meeting next Thursday in Bethesda, Md. (Boston Globe)
South Africa:Row Over GM Seed Exports to Kenya Mar 4, 2008
The director of the African Centre for Biosafety, Mariam Mayet, blamed seed-bulking facilities for the "contamination", but said the government should shoulder blame for the scandal. The seed was exported by the South African branch of US seed giant, Pioneer Hi-Bred. (allAfrica.com)
Feds laud state health lab Feb 29, 2008
The state Health Department laboratory was certified this month as a biosafety level 3 laboratory -- part of ongoing improvements to prepare Hawaii for public health threats ... A biosafety level 3 facility can work with potentially airborne microorganisms that pose high risk of infection, including tuberculosis, certain types of encephalitis and the bacterium that causes Q fever. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Staff begins moving into Rocky Mountain Labs addition Feb 24, 2008
The 67 million Integrated Research Facility which includes the West's first biosafety Level 4 laboratory is expected to be fully operational by fall ... Laboratory staff for the biosafety Level 2 portion of the facility should follow shortly ... The shimmering glass-encased two-story building is the first U.S. National Institutes of Health facility to house three biosafety levels in a single structure. (Missoulian, MT)
Biosafety Bill for application of Biotechnology Feb 17, 2008
Accra, Feb. 16, GNA - The National Biosafety Committee (NBC) has promulgated a Biosafety Legislative Instrument (LI) to circumvent the delay in the passage of the Biosafety Bill to allow good practice of science ... Mr Timpo explained that the LI recognised and empowered the NBC as the National Focal Point on Biosafety ... Mr. Timpo called for the need to develop capacity for genetically Modified food safety evaluation from food safety data submitted by country of export, rapid determination... (Ghana Web, Ghana)
Biotechnology needs legislative environment Feb 17, 2008
Accra, Feb.16, GNA - Professor Walter Alhassan, Programme Coordinator of the Programme for Biosafety Systems on Friday called for an urgent cost effective legislative environment to promote the safe acquisition of the technology in Africa to enhance agriculture. He said there were biosafety regulatory frameworks bounded by international conventions like the Cartagena Protocol in many countries to ensure safe use of biotechnology products in agriculture but where these regulatory systems existed... (Ghana Web, Ghana)
NBAF debate rolls on Feb 14, 2008
" Researchers at the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility - a proposed $450 million lab that could be built off South Milledge Avenue or one of five other sites nationwide - will study uncurable animal diseases like foot-and-mouth to find treatments that could be used if terrorists attack the nation's food supply. To do it, they'll have to infect animals. But animal waste would be sterilized and treated before it enters Athens-Clarke County's sewer system, and carcasses would be sterilized... (Athens Banner-Herald)
Local student learns at Centers for Disease Control Feb 8, 2008
"It's very helpful and reassuring to see that the knowledge we acquire in many classes at BVU is applicable to real-world jobs." While Laura did not work in high-risk areas at the CDC, she did have the chance to put on one of the hazmat "space suits," which are required protection for scientists working in Biosafety Level 4 labs, where research is conducted on such dangerous agents as the Ebola virus and smallpox. "The suit was an XXL size, which was a little big on my 5 foot, 3 inch frame, so... (Storm Lake Pilot Tribune, IA)
Opening of BU biolab to be delayed Feb 1, 2008
BU administrators overseeing the Biosafety Level-4 lab, the centerpiece of a larger federally sponsored project, had predicted that the facility would be operating by the fall ... But Saris said she would retain oversight of the Biosafety Level-4 lab, leaving open the possibility that she could prevent research with the deadliest germs, including Ebola, plague, and Marburg virus. (Boston Globe)
Georgia lab workers exposed to bioterror agent Jan 31, 2008
The testing kits included written instructions stating the samples should be handled inside a special safety cabinet and within the protective barriers of a Biosafety Level 3 lab. Despite these instructions, some lab workers handled the samples in high risk ways, even sniffing open culture plates as they sought clues to what was growing on them, records show. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- World)
The war on disease in Asia: Avian virus Jan 28, 2008
Officials in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Indonesia described intensive avian influenza education, prevention, surveillance and biosafety programs in recent meetings with a group of U.S.-Asian health journalists. They also described almost insurmountable problems: culture and economics related to chickens, lack of resources and more immediate public health crises. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Giant step toward artificial life Giant step toward artificial life Jan 25, 2008
"There are real concerns about biosafety for synthetic organisms, and this takes us a step closer to them," he said ... "There are real concerns about biosafety for synthetic organisms, and this takes us a step closer to them," he said. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Science)
New hope of developing Ebola vaccine Jan 25, 2008
The health hazard posed by the virus means that it can be studied only in highly specialised laboratories equipped to biosafety level four, the highest category of containment facility. This is to protect researchers who handle it and to prevent accidental escapes, but it limits studies to about six laboratories worldwide and often makes research prohibitively expensive. (The Australian)
India builds new labs to fight bird flu spread Jan 23, 2008
To begin with, at least six laboratories are being built which will be of biosafety level-3 (BSL-3), or clinical and diagnostic facilities that work with potentially lethal agents. The new laboratories will supplement the efforts of the Bhopal laboratory. (Reuters India)
'Safe Ebola' created for research Jan 22, 2008
Researchers wear biosafety suits with their own air supply, and the air pressure in the room is less than the pressure outside, so any leak would mean air flowing inwards rather than outwards. This makes anything more than small-scale study of the virus very difficult to arrange. (BBC News -- Health)
Life sciences complex proceeds slowly Jan 22, 2008
Kamehameha Schools has said it sees the Complex as a centerpiece for the life sciences district it's trying to build -- a hub where technology companies could set up near UH's medical school and a planned cancer research center and biosafety laboratory. The research complex is planned for a 5-acre lot on the makai side of Ala Moana Boulevard between Cooke and Coral streets -- the former location of Honolulu Ford, which moved to Kalihi in 2005. (Pacific Business News, HI)
'Safe' form of Ebola created Jan 22, 2008
Current work on Ebola viruses (EBOVs), which cause deadly haemorrhagic fever, is conducted in a small number of laboratories rated at biosafety level-4 (BSL-4) the highest level there is ... Current knowledge of Ebola is "still too limited" because of a lack of facilities, agrees Jens Kuhn, a virologist and biosafety expert at Harvard Medical School who was not involved with the research. (Nature News Service)
Ebola virus disarmed by excising a single gene Jan 22, 2008
At present, research on live Ebola virus is confined to the very highest level of biosafety, known as Biosafety Level 4 (BSL 4). Because such laboratories are rare, small and very expensive, basic research that is the basis for any potential drugs or vaccines to thwart the virus has been limited to perhaps half a dozen labs worldwide. (EurekAlert!)
Disarmed Ebola virus to aid quest for vaccine Jan 22, 2008
The extreme health hazard posed by the virus means that it can be studied only in highly specialised laboratories equipped to biosafety level four (BSL 4), the highest category of containment facility. This is to protect researchers who handle it and to prevent accidental escapes, but it limits studies to about half a dozen laboratories worldwide and often makes research prohibitively expensive. (Times Online)
West African leaders approve framework to combat povertyOuagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) West African leaders Fridaydemonstrated their determination to address the pervasive poverty inthe region with the adoption of a poverty reduction strategy documentat the end of their 33rd ordinary Summit in Ouagadougou. 19/01/2008 Full Text... Jan 19, 2008
The summit discussed agricultural productivity and management in the region and endorsed a five-year action plan for the development of biotechnology and biosafety and their deployment in improving agricultural productivity, competitiveness of regional agriculture and ensuring the sustainable management of the regions genetic resources. Heads of State and Government also called for the improved management of the region's water resources so that it can be used further as a tool for improved... (Panapress.com)
