Laboratory Twinning Initiative
Bringing together different organizations from different sectors is an effective means of leveraging more resources and expertise to tackle public health problems.
Objective
The objective of the laboratory twinning initiative is to strengthen laboratory capacity through the establishment of twinning projects between resource limited laboratories and specialized institutions, in collaboration with the WHO Regional Offices.
Main activities
Strengthening laboratory capacity
Twinning projects address all the competencies needed for a laboratory to participate efficiently in the early detection of epidemic diseases, including:
- support in the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs);
- quality assurance and laboratory management;
- development of in-country laboratory networks;
- introduction of new diagnosis methods, use of molecular tools and development of rapid diagnostic tests;
- joint research programmes to foster capacity strengthening.
Sharing knowledge
The laboratory twinning initiative seeks to facilitate the exchange of information and resources by:
- promoting the establishment of twinning projects between developed and resource-limited laboratories;
- building a partnership network;
- fostering collaboration;
- providing a forum for discussion and sharing of knowledge and resources.
Milestones
- a Steering Committee of the Initiative comprised of international experts has been set up and convened several meetings to determine the work strategy;
- a document on the partnership programme was published in 2004 and is used as an advocacy tool for governments, donor agencies and other stakeholders;
- a Call for Expressions of Interest was launched in 2006 and 121 proposals were received from resource-limited laboratories and specialized institutions from all over the world;
- to date, 13 twinning projects have been selected by the Steering Committee and have received start-up grants to launch their implementation and mobilize additional resources as needed.
Contact
Dr Mohammad Youssef, WHO Lyon Office
E-mail: youssefm@lyon.who.int