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HSP Fellow Develops Biosafety, Biosecurity Guide For High School Students
In Pakistan, HSP Health Security Futures Fellow, Faizan Ahmad, has developed a biosafety and biosecurity guide, as well as the corresponding workshop, for high school students in both English and Urdu, as part of his fellowship project with HSP.Usually, the laboratory experiments performed in high schools are low risk. However, under certain circumstances both teachers and students may still be at risk of contracting various infections. This manual will give students the proper training on … Continue Reading
November 12, 2020
HSP Statement On Ron Klain Being Named Next White House Chief Of Staff
Washington, DC - Health Security Partners (HSP)’s Executive Director, Dr. Jason Rao, released the following statement after having heard the news that Ron Klain will serve as Chief of Staff for the Biden White House.“Given the challenging times we find ourselves in with the COVID-19 pandemic, I could not think of a better Chief of Staff for the Biden White House. Ron Klain understands the importance of global health security and how to execute science-based action plans that will save … Continue Reading
November 10, 2020
HSP Partner Conducts COVID-19 Safety Training With Students & Teachers To Help Reopen Schools In Pakistan
HSP Partner, Dr. Bashir Ahmad visited a school in the Balochistan province of Pakistan in order to give a COVID-19 preventative measures training to 20 school children and their teachers. The Pakistani government recently re-opened schools in the country and issued a series of standard operating procedures to help ensure student and teacher safety during the pandemic. However, there is concern that these procedures are not being followed because there has been an increase in the amount of … Continue Reading
November 05, 2020
HSP, Pakistan Biological Safety Association Host Biorisk Management Webinar Series For COVID-19 Testing Labs
Last weekend, HSP and the Pakistan Biological Safety Association (PBSA) completed a marathon 14-part webinar series to provide biorisk management training to COVID-19 testing laboratories at the forefront of the pandemic response in Pakistan. These trainings are particularly important because the pandemic has created such a large testing demand, that labs which didn’t have experience in handling these types of pathogens are now handling virus-containing specimens regularly.At the conclusion of … Continue Reading
November 03, 2020
HSP, Philippine Partners Conduct Virtual Chemical Transportation Security Workshop For Industry Stakeholders
In the Philippines, HSP is working with the Chemical Industry Association of the Philippines (SPIK) to conduct a month-long, intensive virtual training on best practices for chemical transportation security (CTS). The program began on October 6th, 2020, bringing together 14 industry and university professionals from the chemical sector in the Mindanao region of the Philippines. The workshop is comprised of a series of 8, 3-hour webinars featuring top international and Philippine experts to … Continue Reading
November 02, 2020
HSP Celebrates Senior Staff Member’s Selection To The International Federation Of Biosafety Associations’ Equity Coordinating Committee
Washington, DC - Health Security Partners (HSP) celebrated the International Federation of Biosafety Associations (IFBA)’s announcement of the members on their Equity-Focused Coordinating Committee (ECC), which includes HSP’s Director of Scientific Programs & Engagement, Dr. Prasad Kuduvalli.The members of the ECC serve for two-year terms, alongside the IFBA Secretariat and governance, to help steer IFBA’s biosafety and biosecurity program work, through their global network, towards more … Continue Reading
September 18, 2020
HSP Delivers COVID-19 Biosecurity Lecture At International BioRisk Management Workshop
This week, HSP's own Dr. Prasad Kuduvalli gave a Biosecurity lecture at an International BioRisk Management workshop hosted by the Institute of Tropical Disease, Airlangga University. The virtual workshop focused on how laboratory biorisk management best practices should be implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to reduce the likelihood of lab-acquired infection or potential misuse of the pathogen. In addition to Dr. Kuduvalli, the event included speakers from many of HSP's partner … Continue Reading
September 17, 2020
HSP’s Arabic AMR Dictionary Presented To Iraq’s Prime Minister
The Arabic version of the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Dictionary, which was translated by HSP's Iraq Fellows, has been presented to Iraq's Prime Minister and President of Parliament. The recently translated tool was presented to them by Iraq's Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Through this gesture, the Minister highlighted the importance of the AMR Dictionary as a means to raise awareness and help educate Iraqi students about AMR, in order to protect human and animal … Continue Reading
September 14, 2020
HSP Congratulates BioRisk Association Of The Philippines On Its Fifth Anniversary
HSP congratulates the BioRisk Association of the Philippines (BRAP) on their recent fifth anniversary. Over the past five years, BRAP has grown from 20 to over 600 members all over the Philippines. They have always been an incredible partner to HSP in our mission to build biosafety and biosecurity capacity in the Philippines. HSP's work with BRAP dates back to April 2016, when HSP and BRAP held a Laboratory Network meeting in Cebu. Most recently, HSP has collaborated with BRAP to put on a … Continue Reading
August 31, 2020
HSP Conducts Study On The Prevalence Of Antimicrobial Resistance In Pakistan’s Agricultural Industry
In Pakistan, HSP is working as part of the United Kingdom (UK) Fleming Fund's efforts to better understand the levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria found in food animals. AMR is an evolution in viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens that makes them resistant to drugs they have been exposed to repeatedly. In order to test the levels of AMR in Pakistan's food animals, HSP has teamed up with Dr. Muhammed Usman Zaheer of the Animal Husbandry Commissioner's Office in the Ministry … Continue Reading
August 28, 2020
HSP Partner Conducts COVID-19 Safety Awareness Sessions For Camel Herders In Pakistan
In Pakistan, HSP Partner, the Association for Biorisk Management (ABM) is providing basic COVID-19 safety training to camel herders in the Loralai district of Balochistan. In this region, camel herding is an important part of the economy because it provides food and income to people in remote, desert or mountainous areas. However, in order to feed the camels these herders must be constantly nomadic, creating a means of spread for COVID-19 throughout the region. During the safety trainings, … Continue Reading
August 27, 2020
HSP Partner Helps Distribute Personal Protective Equipment In Kurdistan
In the Kurdistan region of Iraq, HSP Partner Dr. Wafa Mufty, Directorate General of Health, is helping to support the COVID-19 response efforts by distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) to emergency medical personnel or the 1-2-2 in Duhok. Recently, Duhok has been seeing a 150-200 daily rise in new cases, creating a heightened need for PPE so their first responders can safely perform their frontline roles. This PPE distribution effort follows HSP's recent Chemical, Biological, … Continue Reading
August 07, 2020
HSP Conducts Antimicrobial Use Survey Of Pakistan’s Poultry, Dairy Industries
In Pakistan, HSP is working as part of the United Kingdom (UK) Fleming Fund's effort to understand why antimicrobial use is so prevalent in the Pakistani poultry and dairy industries. Studies have shown that increased antimicrobial use (AMU) like antibiotics, leads to increased rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), an evolution in viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens that makes them resistant to drugs they have been exposed to repeatedly. Our team along with the Animal Husbandry … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
HSP, Indonesian Partners Conduct Virtual Biorisk Management Training For New COVID-19 Testing Labs
In Indonesia, HSP is working with the Indonesian Biorisk Association (IBA) and the National Standardization Agency (BSN) to conduct week-long, intensive virtual training programs for labs that are new to COVID-19 testing. The program is comprised of a series of webinars by experts from both Indonesia and the U.S. on key topics in biosafety, biosecurity and testing quality. These training programs are vital because in Indonesia, more than 250 public and private sector labs are conducting … Continue Reading
July 28, 2020
HSP Partner Develops Video Training Tools For Better COVID-19 Testing In The Philippines
In the Philippines, HSP Partner, the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine-Biorisk Management Office (RITM-BRMO), is developing video content on their days off in order to help better train laboratory workers in the safest COVID-19 testing methods. The videos will consist of various training tools and job aids to facilitate COVID-19 testing and will help strengthen biosafety practices at testing sites across the … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
HSP Supports Lab Mentorship Program For Indonesian Military Hospitals
Over the last two weeks, HSP Partners at the University of Indonesia (UI) and IPB Universityhave hosted a lab mentorship program on COVID-19 testing for staff from three Indonesian military hospitals. HSP helped setup this program in support of an ongoing, multi-year partnership between the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)'s Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) and the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), to build disease detection and Biorisk Management capacity at Indonesian military … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
HSP Partner Helps Soccer Teams Safely Resume Practice In Pakistan
HSP Partner, Dr. Mujahid Khan, team leader and trainer for the Association for Biorisk Management (ABM), held a training with five soccer teams and their respective staffs, so that they could safely resume practice for their upcoming tournament in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan. During the training, Dr. Mujahid detailed actions the players can take to protect themselves and their teammates from COVID-19. Topics discussed included the importance of social distancing, handwashing … Continue Reading
July 13, 2020
HSP Partners Hold Virtual CBRNE Medical Countermeasures Training In Kurdistan
In the Kurdistan region of Iraq, HSP Partners Dr. Wafaa Mufty of the Directorate General of Health-Duhok (DGOH), Dr. Souzan Eassa of the University of Duhok, and Dr. Ayad Almamoori of the University of Babylon, held a two-day virtual event this week to train ten frontline advanced medical professionals to adequately respond to injuries from Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) events. These sessions, held on July 7th and 8th, served as the third and final … Continue Reading
July 10, 2020
HSP Partner Educates Pakistani Nomadic Shepherds On How To Protect Themselves From COVID-19
In Pakistan, HSP Partner, the Association for Biorisk Management (ABM)'s Veterinary cohort, recently traveled to the mountainous region of Loralai in Balochistan in order to educate nomadic shepherds in that region about COVID-19. This effort is an incredibly important part of Pakistan's fight against COVID-19 because these shepherds are prone to contracting and spreading different diseases because they frequently travel, while herding their animals and searching for new pastures. During a … Continue Reading
July 08, 2020
HSP Holds Virtual Planning Meeting For Upcoming Biorisk Management Training
Over the weekend, HSP held a virtual planning meeting with our partners from both the Indonesian Biorisk Association (IBA) and the National Standardization Agency (BSN), in order to prepare for an upcoming Biorisk Management training program, which will occur virtually on July 13th, 2020. The program will share best practices in Biorisk Management with 60 Indonesian laboratories who have started COVID-19 PCR testing. As part of the national response to the pandemic, more than 240 labs across … Continue Reading