Province-level mapping and interaction program for public and private laboratories in Gandaki province held

Pokhara, Gandaki province - The Provincial Public Health Laboratory with support from WHO Country Office for Nepal, in collaboration with the Medical Laboratory Association of Nepal, hosted an interaction programme to foster collaboration between public health and private laboratories within Gandaki Province. This event marked the first of several provincial laboratory mapping initiatives planned across Nepal. Over 90 stakeholders, including laboratory focal persons from health offices and district hospitals across 11 districts, representatives from private laboratories and government officials, discussed lab registration, operational challenges, public-private collaboration, data reporting and legal considerations. Comprehensive data was collected from 65 laboratories covering their geographical distribution, diagnostic capacities and infrastructure to bolster rapid diagnostic responses during public health emergencies. The programme will extend efforts to capture data from all remaining laboratories at the provincial level. This initiative aligns with the International Health Regulations (2005), aiming to enhance surveillance and response capacities and was supported through the USAID Global Health Security.