Pandemic Center

Musonda Mandona is a Zambian Biorisk Management and Biosecurity Policy Expert with over a decade of experience advancing biosecurity, health security, and
biological risk governance in Africa. She currently serves as a Biosafety and Biosecurity Advisor at the Ministry of Health, Zambia, where she leads initiatives to
strengthen national biosafety and biosecurity systems through policy development, capacity building, and multisectoral coordination.

Her work focuses on biothreat reduction, supporting the development of sustainable systems to prevent, detect, and mitigate biological risks. She led the development of Zambia's National Laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity Manual and national capacity-building programmes and is currently spearheading efforts to establish
comprehensive biosafety and biosecurity legislation and a national select agents list. Musonda serves as a National Expert for the EU CBRN Centres of Excellence
Projects, Chairperson of the Southern Africa Regional Biosafety and Biosecurity Technical Working Group, and Founder of the Southern Africa Biosafety and
Biosecurity Network. Through these roles, she advances regional collaboration, technical capacity, and policy dialogue on biological risk management across Africa.
She is an Africa CDC and IFBA-certified biosafety and biosecurity professional and an alumna of fellowship programmes with UNIDIR, UNODA, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

She is passionate about harnessing science and technology to strengthen biosecurity and reduce biological threats. Her interests lie at the intersection of
biosecurity, artificial intelligence governance, emerging technologies, and global security, with a focus on developing forward-looking policies that support responsible
innovation, advance disarmament objectives, and prevent the misuse of biological research. She also advocates for equitable governance frameworks that empower
African scientists and strengthen scientific leadership from the Global South in shaping the future of science, technology, and security.