NIH gets four mobile labs for corona testing

Islamabad : The National Institute of Health (NIH) received four mobile laboratories from the US here to strengthen Pakistan's capacity to diagnose COVID-19 and other communicable diseases, especially in remote locations marked by limited access to testing.

The state-of-the-art facilities will improve the accuracy of diagnoses, reduce testing turnaround time, and better protect healthcare workers. US Ambassador Donald Blome and Minister for National Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel attended the handover ceremony, which was also attended by officials from the Ministry of Health. Speaking on the occasion, Blome commended the health authorities for their effective response to the Covid-19 pandemic and highlighted Pakistan's successful vaccination campaigns to quickly inoculate its citizens. He commented on the success of US-Pakistan collaboration to strengthen healthcare systems as part of 75 years of bilateral relations between the two countries.

"These mobile laboratories will strengthen the diagnostic capacity of the provincial health departments," Blome said. "They will enable the government to respond quickly and effectively in hard-to-reach remote areas during emergencies, or an outbreak, and epidemic."

The mobile laboratories, provided through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) were formally received by Patel, who termed the support as reflecting the strong bilateral relations between Pakistan and the US. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, USAID has worked to save lives and contain the outbreak in more than 120 countries, including Pakistan. The US has provided 61.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Pakistan, one million Covid-19 rapid diagnostic tests, and critical health supplies and training to health workers. These efforts are part of the nearly $70 million in direct support and $9.2 million of in-kind support that the US government has donated to assist the Pakistani people.