|
| National and Provincial Reference Laboratories |
| The NACP recently founded the National Reference Laboratory with the express purpose
of providing quality assurance for HIV and STI testing to various service laboratories in
Pakistan. A Provincial HIV Reference Laboratory has functioned for over a decade exists
in Sindh. The technical direction and assistance to the laboratories are being provided by
the Public Health Agency of Canada, as part of ongoing support will that is to continue
for a minimum of 5 more years under an agreement with the Canadian International
Development Agency. Funding for such support and technical assistance will come from
a grant from the CIDA.
The National Reference Laboratory will enhance its capacity to perform |
- Quality Assurance
- Advanced HIV testing (including but not limited to: genetic tests for HIV and STIs, genetic epidemiology, HIV serotyping, HIV viral loads, CD4 counts etc)
- Research. The Sindh Laboratory will continue to provide HIV testing and referencing
facilities to provincial HIV testing laboratories.
|
| Much of what is known about HIV is based on extrapolation of international data. While
much of this information suffices, other data must be verified with Pakistani samples.
While Pakistani investigators are conducting studies on various aspects of HIV, limited
laboratory capacity in Pakistan limits the scope of these studies or imposes significant
costs from laboratory testing done abroad. A well functioning national laboratory that can
meet these research needs locally. In addition it will provide the kind of information that
is needed to predict future directions of the national epidemic, make decisions about viral
resistance and other issues that impact critical decisions about HIV programming in
Pakistan. In order to discharge these functions, a fully equipped and staffed laboratory is
envisioned that performs its tasks according to a systematic implementation plan.
It is noted that the senior managers were recruited on market based salaries (from
UNFPA funds) in order to attract and retain the best candidates. This arrangement is to
continue under the current PC-1.
Additional capital and recurring expenditures are planned for the laboratory and include
budget for some “start up” funding for research. It is envisioned that in due course (about
year 2) the laboratory will be able to attract independent research funding and will become independent in this respect.
|
|
|
|
|
