Pentagon Must Improve Management Of Biosafety, Biosecurity Program - Report

The US Department of Defense (DOD) must develop an approach to assess how effectively it has implemented earlier recommendations for improving its Biosafety and Biosecurity Program, the Government of Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report issued on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) The US Department of Defense (DOD) must develop an approach to assess how effectively it has implemented earlier recommendations for improving its Biosafety and Biosecurity Program, the Government of Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report issued on Thursday.

"GAO recommends that DOD develop an approach to assess the effectiveness of the recommendations, a strategy and implementation plan for its BSAT Biosafety and Biosecurity Program, measures to ensure independence, and time frames to complete a study," the report said.

In 2015, GAO issued a set of 35 recommendations following the Defense Department's inadvertent shipment of live anthrax to dozens of laboratories in the United States and abroad.

The current report is based upon concurrent actions that Defense Department took to address the recommendations.

In March 2018, the Defense Department reported on 18 recommendations as having been implemented and 17 as having "actions underway" to implement them.

However, GAO said the Defense Department has yet to develop a long-term strategy for managing its Biosafety and Biosecurity Program to ensure safety and security of the procedures.