The Biosecurity Engagement Program (BEP) was first funded in FY 2006 and is part of the Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining and Related Programs Global Threat Reduction programs account managed and implemented by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction (ISN/CTR).
The BEP mission is to engage life scientists and to combat biological threats worldwide by providing assistance to improve biosecurity, biosafety, pathogen surveillance, and infectious disease surveillance and response. In fulfilling its mission, BEP seeks to guide its efforts based on the National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats (PPD-2), which builds upon the National Biodefense Strategy (HSPD-10/NSPD-33), as well as international guidance from the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540.
Since 2006, BEP has expanded its scope of work, countries of engagement, and funding commitment. In every country in which BEP is engaged, the long-term goal of our programmatic activities is to work with governments and other stakeholders to build sustainable capacity for biosecurity, biosafety, disease surveillance, and scientific inquiry. To assess our success, we are working with collaborators to develop metrics that will enable assessment of not only the nature and extent of our engagement, but also the sustainability of the programs and capacities that we are introducing.