The Centre for Infectious Diseases Research, Diagnostics and Laboratory Surveillance, based in the Netherlands, has been designated as the WHO Collaborating Centre for Laboratory Preparedness and Response for High-Threat Pathogens and Biorisk. It is the first WHO collaborating centre to combine laboratory preparedness and biorisk, and it will assist WHO in building national capacity, while ensuring biosafety and biosecurity in biomedical laboratories.
Following a meeting with WHO headquarters and WHO/Europe, the Bilthoven-based centre drafted an action plan for 2022–2023. A key role of the new centre will be to support WHO in finalizing the assessments of national capacity for laboratory diagnostics for high-threat pathogens across the WHO European Region.
The new WHO collaborating centre will also focus on giving technical input to help countries develop national strategies for better preparedness and diagnostics for high-threat pathogens, supported by a series of workshops organized on a country-by-country basis. In addition, the centre will assist WHO in strengthening accurate, safe and secure laboratory preparedness and response systems, through the development of online training sessions for basic and advanced biosafety and biosecurity.
The new collaborating centre will host a series of coaching and technical training events, including additional workshops to support biosafety and biosecurity at a national implementation level, where needed.