The Defense Threat Reduction Agency and United States Strategic Command Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction (DTRA/SCC-WMD) have selected CH2M to lead efforts in West Africa to broaden its Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP) on the African continent and reduce the threat of infectious diseases.
Under the new $35M contract, the CH2M team aims to increase and improve national and local biosafety, biosecurity, and biosurveillance capabilities in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Senegal. The CH2M team is expected to deliver design, engineering, construction, and infrastructure services; as well as provide scientific expertise and training for staff at new and existing laboratory facilities in the region.
CH2M will also provide guidance in establishing national legislation on biosafety and biosecurity, and support the development of laboratory policies and procedures that meet international standards.
Specific activities supported by the contract include:
- Design and construct new national and regional reference laboratories and infrastructure in Liberia
- Design and renovate the Central Public Health Reference laboratory and infrastructure in Lakka, Sierra Leone
- Develop a campus master plan and renovate laboratory facilities and infrastructure in Senegal
- Develop methodologies and infrastructure to improve safety culture and practices, and the safeguarding of pathogens that raise security concerns at laboratory facilities across the region
- Provide comprehensive ongoing laboratory staff training and laboratory consumables procurement
- Provide mentorship and laboratory staffing for surge capability at laboratories throughout the region
CH2M has been assisting DTRA/SCC-WMD through its Biological Threat Reduction Integrating Contract since 2010. DTRA/SCC-WMD has also engaged CH2M to help nations such as Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tanzania, Uganda, Senegal, Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao People Democratic Republic comply with international biosafety standards, improve disease detection and reporting, and pathogen security through laboratory and hospital emergency operations center design, engineering, construction and infrastructure services, and biological sciences expertise.
