The Global Laboratory Leadership Programme (GLLP) selects and trains laboratory staff in the 9 key competencies needed to become laboratory leaders of the future. The GLLP was first introduced in Kazakhstan in May 2020 with 15 participants chosen from the public health, veterinary and environmental health sectors – according to the One Health principles.
Five national experts were also selected as facilitators to train and mentor the participants. Working alongside and supported by WHO, the facilitators were responsible for preparing and adapting materials from the GLLP Learning Package. This approach gives significant autonomy to the facilitators to encourage building capacity at country level and to ensure sustainability.
This first cohort graduated from the programme in August 2022, making Kazakhstan the first ever country to successfully complete an entire in-country course of GLLP.
On April 17 2023, cohort 2 of the GLLP in Kazakhstan officially opened with 15 new participants to be mentored and trained by 7 Kazakhstan facilitators. Since then, the following competency modules have already been delivered: laboratory systems, management, and emergency preparedness, response and recovery.
On July 24 2023, participants and facilitators will meet for two weeks in Almaty to address and deliver the GLLP key core competency of Quality Management Systems.
The GLLP is being implemented in other central Asian countries (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), based on the success of the programme seen in Kazakhstan.