NATIONAL BIO-SECURITY POLICY AND ACTION PLAN
Plan · Security
Policy date: 2026-03-01
A Plan establishes Nigeria's comprehensive biosecurity framework that integrates a One-Health approach to prevent, detect, and respond to biological threats. It targets researchers, scientists, health workers, and border officials. This ensures protection of human, animal, plant, and environmental health.
What Is This Policy?
The National Biosecurity Policy and Action Plan 2022 to 2026 is Nigeria's first comprehensive whole-of-government biosecurity framework, approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2022. It fosters an integrated One-Health approach to preventing, early detecting, rapidly responding to, and recovering from biological threats to human, animal, plant, and environmental health, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate.
Who Does It Target?
Researchers, laboratory scientists, and technicians working with high-risk biological agents in public and private institutions Frontline health workers, veterinarians, quarantine officers, and agricultural extension agents who are first to encounter biological threats Border security, immigration, customs, and port health personnel responsible for controlling bio-threat entry points Farmers, market traders, and abattoir operators who handle animals, crops, and agri-food products at risk of biosecurity breaches
What Does It Aim to Achieve?
Foster integration and harmonisation of Nigeria's biosecurity strategies across all sectors under a unified One-Health governance framework Prevent the introduction, unauthorised access to, and unintentional or deliberate release of biological agents and toxins that could harm humans, animals, plants, or the environment Establish an early warning, detection, and rapid response system for biosecurity incidents at the human-animal-environment interface Build national biosecurity institutional capacity across all 65-plus agencies with biosecurity-related mandates, eliminating coordination gaps
Key Features
One-Health Approach: The Policy integrates the human health (NCDC), animal health (FMoA), environmental (NESREA), agricultural (NAQS), and intelligence (DSS, DIA) sectors into a single coordinated biosecurity governance structure National Biosecurity Register: NBMA maintains the National BioSecurity Register, cataloguing all institutions, agencies, laboratories, and stakeholders involved in biosecurity activities across Nigeria Five-Pillar Action Plan: Prevention and preparedness; detection and surveillance; response and containment; recovery and rehabilitation; international obligations and cooperation Laboratory Biosecurity Standards: All laboratories working with dangerous pathogens must implement WHO Biosafety Level (BSL) standards; NCDC maintains reference laboratories to support accurate detection International Compliance: The Policy ensures Nigeria's compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), IHR 2005, and the Cartagena/Nagoya Protocols Chemical and Biological Emergency Plan: NBMA coordinates the National Chemical and Biological Emergencies Preparedness and Response Plan (NCBEPRP) to ensure cross-sector readiness for chemical-biological incidents
Current Status
Rollout Stage: Active; 2022 to 2026 implementation cycle under way; NBMA conducting inter-agency capacity building and laboratory biosecurity assessment programmes Implementing Body: NBMA (lead coordinator); NCDC; Federal Ministry of Agriculture; Federal Ministry of Environment; NESREA; NAQS; NIA; Nigerian Customs Service; DSS Funding: FGN appropriation through NBMA; WHO technical cooperation; US CDC Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) support; EU One-Health biosecurity partnership COVID-19 Lesson: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the policy's development and underlined the economic cost of biosecurity failures; WHO estimated a 2% GDP loss for Nigeria from a major outbreak
How to Access
Institutions: Register your facility in the National BioSecurity Register at nbma.gov.ng if you handle biological agents, pathogens, or genetically modified organisms Researchers: Contact NBMA for laboratory biosafety and biosecurity assessment and guidance; access WHO-aligned lab biosecurity checklists at nbma.gov.ng Farmers and Agri-Businesses: Report suspected animal disease outbreaks or crop biosecurity threats to the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) or your state Ministry of Agriculture immediately Contact: NBMA: nbma.gov.ng | Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Expressway (Airport Road), Near City Gate, National Park Service, FCT Abuja | +234 (0)80 650 02754
Official Resources
Website: nbma.gov.ng | ncdc.gov.ng | nesrea.gov.ng Contact: NBMA, Airport Road, Near City Gate, FCT Abuja | [email protected] | +234 (0)80 650 02754 Policy Summary | Source: NBMA, FEC Press Release, GET Journal of Biosecurity, ncdc.gov.ng, WHO, nbma.gov.ng | March 2026
Legal Framework
The National Bio-Security Policy and Action Plan operates under the National Biosafety Management Agency Act 2015, the NAFDAC Act, and the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act. It aligns with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (ratified by Nigeria), the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress, and the FAO International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) standards on biosecurity.