Consultative Meeting on National Veterinary Laboratory Policy and Guidelines Draft
Consultative Meeting on the draft of National Veterinary Laboratory Policy and Guidelines organized by Fleming Fund | نیشنل ویٹرنری لیبارٹری پالیسی
نیشنل لیبارٹری نیٹ ورکنگ گروپ فار اینیمل ہیلتھ کے پانچویں اجلاس کا انعقاد
A consultative meeting of the National Laboratory Networking Group for Animal Health Sector was held in Islamabad to deliberate on the draft of National Veterinary Laboratory Policy and Guidelines under the auspices of the Fleming Fund Program, run by DAI and Health Security Partners with the support of the United Kingdom.
The meeting was chaired by Animal Husbandry Commissioner Dr. Muhammad Akram.
The meeting was attended by Technical Director Fleming Fund Dr. Qadeer Ahsan, Assistant Animal Husbandry Commissioner Dr. Riyats Wazeelullah, Member Animal Sciences Division Pakistan Agricultural Research Council Dr. Zia-ul-Hassan, Director General Livestock Sindh Dr. Nazir Hussain Kalhoro, Director General Livestock Balochistan Dr. Kamran Akhtar, Director General Livestock Azad Jammu and Kashmir Dr. Muhammad Ijaz Khan, Dr. Muhammad Afzal, Dr. Murtaza Hassan Andrabi, Dr. Akram Munir and Dr. Qurban Ali, as well as experts from provincial livestock departments, veterinary educational institutions, development partners and other relevant national level institutions.
Speaking at the meeting, Animal Husbandry Commissioner Dr. Muhammad Akram highlighted the role of the animal health sector in antimicrobial resistance and stressed on strong laboratory networking for diagnostic harmonization and uniformity in the quality of activities.
Dr. Muhammad Afzal shared his experiences in controlling foot-and-mouth disease on this occasion and highlighted the importance of quality of sample transmission procedures.
He said that guidelines should be formulated in a realistic manner keeping in mind the difficulties of the field staff.
On this occasion, Technical Director Dr. Qadeer Ahsan said that I am happy that we are contributing to the goals of the Global Health Security Agenda (Prevention, Detection and Implementation) and to achieve this goal, the Fleming Fund is looking forward to the results of today’s meeting and the opinions of experts.
Dr. Khalid Naeem, Dr. Akram Munir and others also spoke in the meeting. Director General Livestock Sindh Dr. Nazir Hussain Kalhoro appreciated the initiative of the Fleming Fund.
Dr. Javed Arshad, Dr. Athar Abbas, Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr, Samreen Sarwar, Dr. Hamid Irshad, Dr. Riyats Wazeeullah, Dr. Zahida Fatima, Dr. Usman Zaheer, Dr. Kashif Saleemi, Professor Dr. Irfan Anwar, Dr. Aamir Ghafoor Bajwa, Dr. Aitzaz Ahsan, Dr. Naila Siddique, Dr. Shamaila Manzoor, Dr. Rehana Kausar, Dr. Saba Rafique, Dr. Sohaib Ikram, Dr. Farhan Afzal, Dr. Ali Raza Nizamani, Dr. Kabir Ali, Dr. Amjad Ali Raza, Dr. Murad Khan, Dr. Maryam Ikhlas Alvi, Dr. Noman Rauf, Dr. Usman Talib, Dr. Qiraatul Ain, Dr. Benazir Kanwal and other experts discussed laboratory policy, laboratory guidelines regarding sample collection, labeling, handling, transportation and storage, laboratory biosafety and biosecurity guidelines, sample receiving and report writing and disease reporting and data management in different groups.
Dr. Farooq Tahir, Technical Advisor (One Health) of the Fleming Fund, said that the aim of the meeting is to provide a platform for experts to consult on the draft of the National Veterinary Laboratory Policy and Guidelines in accordance with international requirements, keeping in mind the national needs and realities. He said that in the light of the suggestions given by the experts, a veterinary laboratory policy will be formulated at the national level for the first time and guidelines will be prepared for the veterinary laboratories of Pakistan.
