Islamabad(PR): On last day of the Workshop on “Strengthening and Sustaining a Network of Public and Animal
Health Clinical Laboratories in Pakistan” (September 27-29, 2016) jointly organized by Pakistan Academy of Sciences and US National Academy of Sciences, learned speakers from Pakistan and USA discussed strategies for strengthening and networking of human and animal clinical laboratories in the country. Special emphasis was given to the role of laboratory leadership in dealing with communicable and contagious diseases.
The Workshop participants were medical doctors and animal health experts, academicians, researchers, scientists, lab technicians, and university students in fields of Biosafety, Life Sciences, Medical sciences, Microbiology and Veterinary Sciences.
During this 3-day Workshop, leading experts from both the countries deliberated upon the state of Pakistan’s human and animal clinical laboratories, key elements for effective clinical laboratories networking, effective communication among the concerned entities, technical aspects and implications, clinical laboratory data, role of laboratory leadership, opportunities for collaborations and the way forward to strengthening laboratory network in the country.
The participants had several brainstorming sessions on needs laboratories in remote areas, needs and initiatives of the federal government in working towards electronic data availability for betterment of the healthcare system.
In his concluding remarks, Dr. Arshad Ali, Executive Director of Higher Education Commission (HEC) appreciated the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and US National Academy of Sciences for organizing this scientific event on an important national issue concerning clinical laboratories in Pakistan.
He further stated that HEC will always encourage creating an environment of scientific research and is determined in Public-Private collaborative projects and supporting young scientists of the country in their R&D endeavors. Dr. David Franz of the US Academy of Sciences stated that globally about 15 million humans die of communicable and contagious diseases annually. He stressed that local leadership and global networks of responsible scientists should come together to enhance safety and security of the citizens.
He stated that US and Pakistan have many common health challenges, common infectious diseases, and common hospital acquired infections. Prof. Dr. Zabta khan Shinwari, Secretary General of Pakistan Academy of Sciences, stresses that today’s world is a global village, pathogens from both human and animal origin can be get transmitted across countries. We as citizens of the global village should concentrate our resources for One Health, a term used for joint human-animal healthcare system.
