HSP, in Partnership with Association for Biorisk Management Pakistan, Hosts First Technical Working Group Meeting for the Establishment and Strengthening of Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBCs) at Partner Universities in Pakistan
Health Security Partners and the Association for Biorisk Management Pakistan (ABM) are collaborating on a project to establish and strengthen Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBCs) at Partner Universities in Pakistan. To begin, HSP and ABM brought together a Technical Working Group (TWG) of provincial-level experts to work closely with universities and the National Biosafety Committee at the federal level to facilitate the establishment of IBCs at the select universities. The TWG conducted its first in-person meeting on 20th October 2022, in Lahore. During the meeting, the TWG discussed significant challenges hindering the current establishment and functioning of IBCs in Pakistan and made recommendations for overcoming the challenges and ensuring sustainability.
The TWG also worked to develop and improve the agenda for HSP and ABM's upcoming one-day national-level consultative IBC workshop. The national-level consultative workshop will be conducted in November 2022 as the next step to develop guidelines for establishing IBCs and adopting and implementing Pakistan biosafety regulations. Thirty participants from 15 partners universities looking to develop IBCs will attend the workshop. Following the consultative workshop, HSP and ABM will host follow-on two-day workshops with individual universities.
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