AFRICA SHIELD 2026: Strengthening Counterproliferation Efforts Across Africa

TUNIS, TUNISIA--DTRA's International Counterproliferation Program (ICP), in partnership with the European Union Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Centres of Excellence Risk Mitigation Initiative (EU CBRN CoE) and United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), hosted the AFRICA SHIELD 2026 Regional Counterproliferation Workshop in Tunis, Tunisia, July 14-16. This workshop brought together more than 100 participants from across the African continent, representing law enforcement, military, policy, and UNSCR-1540 national-level coordination.

The workshop focused on enhancing cooperation and building capacity to counter the proliferation of WMD and related materials. Participants engaged in discussions on the best international practices, shared information on key programs and initiatives, and explored ways to strengthen counterproliferation efforts across the region.

“Africa Shield provides an opportunity to not only exchange expertise and lessons learned,” said Maj. Brittany Brown, DTRA’s Global Threat Redcution Africa Region Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction Program Coordinator. “It also deepens partnerships that are essential to addressing increasingly complex transnational security challenges,” she said.

Global Threat Reduction Director Ms. Laura Gross said specialized roles must be established where one nation might lead in advanced CBRN forensics while another serves as a hub for regional incident response training.

“Africa Shield is a critical multilateral investment that, in the spirit of true burden-sharing, has fundamentally empowered our partnerships across the continent," said Maj. Brittany Brown, an FA52 serving DTRA’s Africa CWMD Program. "This initiative has enabled African countries to clearly demonstrate their ownership of the counterproliferation problem set. The networks and collaboration created and endorsed at Africa Shield are unmatched, allowing our foreign partners to effectively fight against adversarial networks."

Maj. Brown stated that the core of Africa Shield is to increase Africa interoperability amongst its major CWMD stakeholders.

“No single nation can secure the continent alone. Burden sharing extends to our vital stakeholders and foreign partnersm” said Gross. “We call upon our international allies, including DTRA, the EU, and the UN, to synchronize our investments, eliminate duplicated efforts, and directly support African-led solutions,” she said.

Over the three day exercise, key topics covered during Africa Shield 2026 included:

• Border Management and Supply Chain Security:Addressing challenges such as regional smuggling by non-state actors, border crossing control procedures, and the secure transportation and storage of illicit goods and dual-use items.
• Intelligence Flow and Incident Response Management:Improving information sharing and coordination to effectively respond to potential WMD/CBRN incidents.
• Export Controls and Dual-Use Technologies:Strengthening regulatory frameworks and enforcement mechanisms to prevent the illicit transfer of sensitive materials.
• CBRN Crime Investigation and Counter-Proliferation Financing:Developing specialized investigative skills and disrupting financial networks that support proliferation activities.

“It was such an honor to gather representatives from governments across Africa, regional and international organizations and technical partners who share a common commitment,” said Maj. Brown. “Strengthening cooperation to prevent, detect and respond to CBRN threats and proliferation risks,”, she concluded.

Africa Shield 2026 provided a valuable platform for participants to broaden their knowledge, identify regional capability gaps, and forge connections with fellow counterproliferation professionals. The workshop underscored DTRA's ongoing commitment to partnering with African nations to strengthen global security and counter the threat of WMD proliferation.

For more information on Africa Shield 2026 and other international collaborative efforts, visithttp://www.dtra.mil.