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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
July 02, 2020
HSP Participates In Iraq's First International Medical Sciences Conference
Over the weekend, HSP participated in Iraq's first International Medical Sciences Conference, a three-day virtual event organized by Al-Mustaqbal University. The conference, which occurred from June 28th-30th, was attended by our 2019 Iraq Health Security Stewards Fellows and ceremoniously marked the culmination of their fellowship with the receipt of their certificates of completion and a graduation message delivered by HSP's Executive Director, Dr. Jason Rao. The conference included … Continue Reading
July 01, 2020
HSP, Collaborator Conduct Virtual AMR Genomic Sequencing Training In Pakistan
In Pakistan, HSP has been supporting the work of the U.K. Fleming Fund, which is an effort to improve antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance in low income countries and increase relevant data for informed decision making related to antimicrobial use. One of the primary objectives of this partnership is to establish national reference laboratories with well-trained staff capable of utilizing genomic data to identify resistance mechanisms and trends in the community. To achieve this goal, … Continue Reading
June 30, 2020
HSP Partner Convenes Working Group Of Experts To Develop Standardized Biosecurity Curriculum In Turkey
Today, HSP Partner Dr. Aysen Gargili-Keles, Marmara University, virtually convened a working group of experts to help develop a national standard for biosafety and biosecurity education in the country of Turkey. The group, which included experts from the Ministry of Agriculture Veterinary Institutes, TUBITAK, the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), and several Turkish universities, began to draft universal curriculum elements and laboratory procedures during the video teleconference. The … Continue Reading
June 22, 2020
HSP Fellows Translate Antimicrobial Resistance Dictionary Into Arabic
In Iraq, HSP's Health Security Stewards Fellows have translated the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Dictionary into Arabic. HSP is a member of the consortium led by the Tropical Medicine Faculty of Mahidol University that developed the dictionary, which includes AMR terminology and associated learning points, as well as posters and online videos that promote AMR awareness for the general public. It is also available in English, French, Thai, Chinese, Khmer, Myanmar, Tamil, and … Continue Reading
June 11, 2020
HSP Partner Helps Develop Mobile BSL-2 Lab For COVID-19 Testing In Indonesia
In Indonesia, HSP Partner Dr. Diah Iskandriati, IPB University, worked with a consortium of partners led by the Ministry of Research and Technology/National Research Agency (Kemristek/BRIN) to develop a mobile Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) lab to respond to health emergencies, such as COVID-19 around the country. After President Joko Widodo launched a huge research and technology development initiative in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Dr. Diah worked with the team to design and establish the … Continue Reading
June 05, 2020
HSP Calls For Book Chapters About COVID-19's Impact On Society
Call For International Book Chapters Book Title: Society in the Pandemic Period Editors: Veysel Bozkurt, Istanbul University Glenn D. Dawes, James Cook University Hakan Gülerce, Harran University Patricia A. Westenbroek, Health Security Partners Scope of the book: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of social life around the globe, from individual relationships to institutional operations at local and global levels. As people do their best to mitigate transmission … Continue Reading
May 29, 2020
HSP Director Denounces President Trump’s Termination Of US Membership In The World Health Organization
Washington, DC - Today, Health Security Partners (HSP)'s Executive Director, Dr. Jason Rao, released the following statement on President Trump's announcement that he will terminate the United States' relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO): Rao said, "President Trump's move to terminate our relationship with the WHO is wrong. Pandemics, like the one we are in now, know no borders. That is why it is critical that we engage with countries around the world through diplomacy and … Continue Reading
May 21, 2020
HSP Fellow Appears On National Yemeni Radio Program To Discuss COVID-19
In Yemen, HSP Fellow Sumia Alturki, Head of Infection Control at Ez Aldeen Alshaibani Hospital in Sana'a, was recently interviewed about COVID-19 on Radio Yemen FM's, "Your Health is Important" program, which is aired across the country. During her appearance, she discussed how one becomes infected, prevention measures, and the impact it has had on Yemen. Sumia and our other Health Security Futures Fellows are working hard to raise awareness about COVID-19 and are supporting Yemen's response … Continue Reading
May 21, 2020
HSP Fellow Assists Pakistan's Animal Quarantine Department In Receiving $800K Infrastructure Grant
In Karachi, Pakistan, HSP Fellow Zargham Nawaz, Animal Quarantine Department (AQD), helped his organization receive a $800,000 (USD) public sector development funding grant from the Pakistani Government. The funding will go to building a facility with three new labs focusing on: Microbiology, Clinical Pathology, and Molecular Biology. These labs will be utilized to help the Animal Quarantine Department test animal and animal products that are imported into Pakistan, in order to prevent the … Continue Reading
May 15, 2020
HSP Partner Leads Virtual Sessions On Biorisk Management In Indonesia
HSP Partner Dr. Diah Iskandriati, IPB University and the Indonesian Biorisk Association (IBA), led two virtual sessions last week, organized by the Indonesian National Standardization Agency (BSN), on the heighten need for Biorisk Management systems because of COVID-19. It is crucial that laboratories that conduct testing for COVID-19 have a biorisk management system in place to prevent staff from getting sick and possibly spreading the disease throughout their communities. During the … Continue Reading
May 14, 2020
HSP Partner Conducts Survey To Better Understand Academic, Social Needs Of Syrian Refugees In Turkey
In Turkey, HSP Partner Dr. Günnur Ertong Attar, Mersin University, just completed a survey of 1,135 Syrian students adapting to the Turkish higher education system. Since the Syrian Civil War began, nearly 3.6 Million Syrians have fled to Turkey and many of those are pursuing higher education at Turkish universities. The survey asked participants about their feelings towards their new academic environments. Although, Turkish universities have made great strides to include these students … Continue Reading
May 07, 2020
HSP Partners Conduct Biosafety Training, Trust Building Workshop With Medical Professionals And Community Leaders In Pakistan
In Pakistan, HSP partners at the Association for Biorisk Management (ABM) conducted a biosafety training with twelve medical professionals and local community leaders from the Tehsil Tangi district of Charsadda, a community of more than 400,000 people. The training focused on biosafety and precautionary measures that can be used to stop community-based transmission of COVID-19, as well as trust building exercises between the two groups. During the training, community leaders and medical staff … Continue Reading
May 06, 2020
HSP Partner Launches Biosafety, COVID-19 Webinar Series In The Philippines
In the Philippines, our longstanding partner, the Biorisk Management Office (BRMO) of the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM), Department of Health, launched their biosafety and biosecurity webinar series - Biosafety Xchange on Facebook Live to support the COVID-19 response. The first webinar in this series featured Maureen Ellis from the International Federation of Biosafety Associations (IFBA), who spoke about bridging the implementation gap between policy and practice. Biosafety … Continue Reading
May 06, 2020
HSP Health Security Futures Fellows Take Action To Combat COVID-19 In Yemen
In Yemen, protracted conflict has created the conditions for rampant and uncontrolled COVID-19 spread. In response, our Yemeni Health Security Futures Fellows have been acting as champions of health security and leveraging local resources to raise awareness, train health and laboratory professionals to enhance preparedness, and support the response to COVID-19 infections in their cities. Here are a few examples of what they have been able to do: Conduct an "Infection Control and Medical … Continue Reading