Event highlights
26 June 2023
Seventy-two participants from 17 Member States and one territory convened for the third Laboratory Task Force (Lab Task Force) meeting in Izmir, Türkiye, on 23–24 May 2023. These included national laboratory focal points, WHO collaborating centres, and organizations and networks. Progress made by the Lab Task Force in its third year was presented over the following 8 sessions:
Prioritization of pathogens was identified as a key action point during the second Lab Task Force meeting in 2022. WHO/Europe presented the prioritization method and tool, which is being finalized.
The Public Health Laboratory Recognition Programme for pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential driven by WHO headquarters was also discussed. WHO/Europe is now ready to pilot this programme and, as a first step, is looking at how countries can be further supported with prioritization efforts.
Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever and Ebola were used as examples to illustrate procurement solutions for specific tests. Challenges remain around availability of kits for rare diseases and which commercial kits to use. A suggested solution was for WHO to stockpile to support countries in their procurement where needed.
Discussions took place around the Laboratory Sustainability Assessment checklist. The Microsoft Excel-based tool is proposed to supplement the WHO Laboratory Assessment Tool and will help to assess sustainability in terms of laboratory viability. It was recognized as useful, and a few countries expressed interest in supporting the piloting of this tool.
Another session of the meeting was based around national genomic strategies and the sequencing costing tool. Countries expressed interest and will support the piloting of this tool, in order for it to be finalized and launched by the end of 2023 for COVID-19, and then extended to other diseases.
Legislation on infectious substance transportation was also identified as a priority topic during the 2022 Lab Task Force second meeting, and since then two transportation legislation workshops have been held. These workshops demonstrated the need for measures to enable and facilitate the strengthening of national sample transport legislation with an emphasis on capacity building, interdepartmental coordination, packaging, logistics, and experience sharing.
The meeting concluded with a networking session showing an interest in mapping capacities across the region for laboratories to know who can provide support according to the pathogen.
Joanna Zwetyenga, Technical Officer, WHO Regional Office for Europe, leading the Better Labs for Better Health initiative, said:
“The technical content of the Lab Task Force network is clearly becoming stronger and more advanced at each meeting. It demonstrates the commitment of countries and international partners in advancing laboratory preparedness and response to high-threat pathogens through regional collaboration.”
Event notice
23 May 2023
Under the WHO Health Emergencies programme (WHE), the Better Labs for Better Health initiative supports countries in strengthening the core laboratory capacities required under the International Health Regulations (2005).
International networks for laboratory surveillance, preparedness and response are an important tool for laboratory strengthening, because they can serve both as a platform for sharing information and expertise, and as a system for referral of diagnostic specimens for primary and confirmatory testing. To ensure participation of all the WHE priority countries, in international laboratory preparedness and response networks for emerging and re-emerging pathogens, WHO/Europe established the European Laboratory Task Force for Emerging and Re-emerging Pathogens (Lab Task Force) in January 2019. During the preparatory meeting held in Istanbul in January 2019 the terms of reference for the Lab Task Force were agreed upon.
On 23–24 May, focal points from 18 Member States will be participating in the third meeting of the Lab Task Force alongside representatives of WHO collaborating centres, WHO headquarters, WHO/Europe, WHE hubs, WHO country offices and partners, and observers.
The aim of the meeting is to present the progress of the Lab Task Force in its third year.
Objectives of the meeting
- Present the work on prioritization of pathogens and plan further roll out of the work
- Discuss implementation of the Public Health Laboratory Recognition Programme for Pathogens with Epidemic and Pandemic Potential
- Present and validate the laboratory sustainability assessment checklist
- Exchange experience on national genomic strategies and the sequencing costing tool developed for COVID-19 and mpox (monkeypox) virus (MPXV)
- Review sample transport legislation, including MPXV requirements – country approaches
- Discuss how to improve networking
Expected outcomes
- Agreement from countries on the approach to prioritization and their participation in the work
- Countries to share their interest in the Public Health Laboratory Recognition Programme for Pathogens with Epidemic and Pandemic Potential
- Validation of the laboratory sustainability assessment checklist and planning of its future use
- Shared experiences in establishing national genomic strategies
- Presentation of the genomic sequencing costing tool tailored to COVID-19 and MPXV
- Shared country requirements for MPXV sample transport and revisions of their sample transport legislation
- Improved laboratory networking
This 2-day meeting will be held in English with simultaneous translation into Russian, and will be fully documented in a forthcoming report.