Eleventh Meeting of South-East Asia Region Polio Network and Capacity Building Workshop on Risk Assessment (Hybrid)

Overview

Meeting and Workshop Details: The four-day South-East Asia Region Polio Laboratory Network (SEAR PLN) meeting was hosted by the World Health Organization South-East Asia Regional Office (WHO SEARO), with participation from WHO Headquarters (WHO HQ), the WHO Country Office for India (WCO India), Global Specialized Laboratories (GSL) for Polio (MHRA, London, UK; RIVM, Netherlands; and NIV Mumbai Unit, India), Regional Reference Laboratories (MRI, Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Thai NIH, Bangkok, Thailand), and National Polio Laboratories from Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar. The meeting was organized in a hybrid format, with both in-person and virtual participation, focusing on strengthening the SEAR PLN through technical updates, skill-building, and strategic planning for self-reliance.

Objectives

• Meeting objective: Address the emerging challenges of polio laboratories, enhance the technical knowledge, and review the preparedness of polio laboratories for contingency planning and self-sufficiency in the South-East Asia region.
• Workshop objective: Capacity building on risk assessment (RA) and root cause analysis (RCA) for polio-specific functions.

Key Highlights

• Global and Regional updates on polio
• Discussion on WHO SEARO’s approach to adapting advanced diagnostics for polio in SEAR • Discussion on Contingency planning strategies of SEAR PLN Laboratories
• Quality Assurance reports of SEAR PLN Laboratories
• Advancements in the field of wastewater and environmental surveillance
• Capacity building on risk assessment and root cause analysis

Outcomes

• The competencies of laboratory colleagues on risk assessment and root cause analysis have been enhanced through concept building and group works