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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
May 05, 2020
HSP Partners Help Develop National Guidelines For COVID-19 Testing In Indonesia
HSP Partners at the Indonesian Biorisk Association (IBA) collaborated with the National Standardization Agency (BSN) and the Indonesian Biotechnology Consortium to develop national guidelines for laboratories to follow when conducting COVID-19 testing. The guidelines are entitled: "Laboratory Biorisk Management Guidelines Related to COVID-19 Handling and Management of Specimens for Molecular and Serological Testing (non-propagation of viruses)." These guidelines address all aspects of … Continue Reading
May 04, 2020
HSP Partner Dr. Hakan Gulerce Leads Survey On Sociological Impacts Of COVID-19
In Turkey, HSP Partner Dr. Hakan Gülerce, Harran University Migration Policy Application and Research Center (HÜGÖÇ), and his collaborator Dr. Veysel Bozkurt, Istanbul University, are leading a survey on the sociological impact of COVID-19. Their study which is currently underway in Pakistan and Turkey, will survey attitudes toward public health, biosafety practices, policy, and the future across different cultures, as well as psychosocial influences on human behavior … Continue Reading
April 30, 2020
HSP Partners From The Association Of Biorisk Management Appear On Pakistani Radio Show To Talk COVID-19's Impact On The Agricultural Sector
This past weekend, Dr. Asghar Ali and Dr. Murad Khan from the Association of Biorisk Management (ABM), one of HSP's collaborating partners, appeared on Abaseen FM's daily agricultural program, which reaches approximately seven million listeners throughout Pakistan on channels FM88 and FM99. The program is aired in Pashto, Urdu, and English so that it is accessible to a variety of residents in Peshawar, Charsadda, and many other cities. During the program, they discussed the impact of COVID-19 … Continue Reading
April 22, 2020
HSP Partner Dr. Diah Iskandriati Transitions Primate Lab To Conduct COVID-19 Testing In Indonesia
HSP Partner Dr. Diah Iskandriati has enabled the Primate Research Center lab at the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) in Indonesia to conduct COVID-19 testing. The lab is the first and currently the only testing site in Bogor, a city of 1.1 million people. Prior to the testing at this facility, specimens had to be sent all the way to Jakarta or Bandung to be processed. This lab is also the first veterinary lab in Indonesia to offer COVID-19 testing, with kits and standard diagnostic protocol … Continue Reading
April 22, 2020
HSP Fellow Dr. Wafaa Al-Hussainni Holds Virtual Biosecurity Training In Iraq
HSP Fellow Dr. Wafaa Al-Hussainni, Lecturer and Doctor at Ibn Sina University's College of Medicine in Baghdad, Iraq, recently completed a three-day virtual training via Google Hangouts on both biological and chemical safety and security. The training, which occurred from April 14th to 16th, covered topics like biorisk management, biosafety, biosecurity, chemical safety, chemical security, biocontainment, hazard identification and mitigation, as well as infectious and chemical waste … Continue Reading
April 21, 2020
HSP-Supported Experts Design And Hold Trainings For Frontline Workers In Health Care
In Pakistan, Dr. Farida Lalani and Dr. Saba Savul, both HSP-supported experts, are working on behalf of the new Patient Safety Institute of the National Institute of Health, Islamabad (NIH). Along with other NIH experts they designed and held trainings for frontline workers like doctors, nurses, and medical facility housekeeping staff. These trainings covered topics like preventing healthcare associated infections (HAI), donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE), proper clean-up … Continue Reading
April 16, 2020
HSP Fellow Dr. Nawfal Al-Dujaili Conducts Virtual Workshop On One Health, Global Threats, COVID-19
This week, HSP Fellow Dr. Nawfal Al-Dujaili from the University of Kufa of Iraq, conducted a virtual workshop focused on One Health and Global Threats with 1,114 participants. The participants included university faculty, postgraduate students, as well as medical and health care professionals. The Q&A session explored the animal origin of COVID-19, its transmission to humans, and its spread across the globe. Keep up the great work Dr. … Continue Reading
April 15, 2020
HSP Partners With NIH, Islamabad, Trees Technologies To Bring Laboratory Information Management System To KPK Public Health Lab
In Pakistan, HSP partnered with the National Institute of Health, Islamabad (NIH) and Trees Technologies to deliver and commission a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Public Health Lab at Khyber Medical College. Following installation, Trees Technologies also provided training to the staff so that they fully understood the capacity and how to use the system. They are now using this infrastructure to quickly report their COVID-19 testing results to … Continue Reading
April 15, 2020
HSP Fellow Dr. Osama Shareef Continues To Help Iraq Conduct Testing For COVID-19
In Iraq, HSP Fellow Dr. Osama Shareef and his team continue to help their country's Ministry of Health to conduct diagnostic PCR testing for suspected COVID-19 cases. Viral Transport Media (VTM), used to maintain specimen quality during transport for testing, is currently unavailable in Iraq through local vendors. Dr. Osama and his team prepared their own VTM using available WHO protocols and conducted tests for quality assurance before sharing it with hospitals and specimen collection … Continue Reading
April 14, 2020
HSP Director Statement On Trump’s Announcement Of World Health Organization Funding Freeze
Washington, DC - Today, Health Security Partners (HSP) Executive Director, Dr. Jason Rao released the following statement on President Trump's announcement that the US will freeze funding towards the World Health Organization (WHO). Rao said, "As the Coronavirus has demonstrated in the past few months, diseases know no borders. Public health and infectious disease are global issues and the United States' participation in and support of the WHO is critical to the world's success in overcoming … Continue Reading
April 14, 2020
HSP Partner Dr. Javed Muhammed Helps Khyber Pakhtunkwa Government Establish COVID-19 Testing Sites
In Pakistan, our partner Dr. Javed Muhammad, Assistant Professor at University of Swabi, and Treasurer of the Pakistan Biological Safety Association (PBSA) is helping the Khyber Pakhtunkwa (KPK) government establish COVID-19 testing sites. One of the testing sites is being setup at Mufti Mehmood Memorial Hospital in Dera Ismail Khan. At this site, Dr. Muhammad, a microbiologist and expert in biosecurity and biosafety, has helped establish a complete PCR testing facility with separate reagents, … Continue Reading
April 13, 2020
HSP Fellow Dr. Osama Shareef Leads Two Teams To Conduct Real-Time COVID-19 PCR Testing In Iraq
In the Kurdish region of Iraq, HSP Fellow Dr. Osama Shareef is leading teams at the ASA Hospital and Sarchner Center, both in Sulaymaniyah City, to conduct COVID-19 PCR testing. Between the two sites, they are running up to 545 tests daily, which is critical to Iraq's efforts to identify and contain the spread of the … Continue Reading
April 10, 2020
HSP Director Releases Statement Calling For Global Action To End The Coronavirus Crisis After Deaths Surpass 100,000
Washington, DC - Today, Health Security Partners (HSP) Executive Director, Dr. Jason Rao released the following statement calling for coordinated action after COVID-19 or the novel Coronavirus claimed over 100,000 lives globally. Rao said, "On behalf of not only Myself, but of all of the HSP global network of partners, our deepest condolences go to the families and communities that have lost loved-ones because of this horrible pandemic. I cannot imagine the pain they are going through, … Continue Reading
April 07, 2020
HSP Fellow Dr. Nawfal Al-Dujaili Holds Online Global Health Training With COVID-19 Focus In Iraq
This weekend, HSP Health Security Fellow Dr. Nawfal Al-Dujaili from the University of Kufa in Iraq held an online training session on global health security with a focus on COVID-19. There were 762 participants that attended the virtual event, comprised of professors and students from universities, as well as doctors and clinical staff from health centers across Iraq. After the lecture, Dr. Nawfal answered questions about what can be done to prevent COVID-19, when a vaccine would potentially … Continue Reading
March 27, 2020
HSP Fellow Supporting COVID-19 Response In Indonesia On Multiple Fronts
HSP Fellow Dr. Aroem Naroeni, Researcher and Biosafety Officer at the Virology and Cancer Pathobiology Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, is helping to lead Indonesia's COVID-19 response on several fronts: Dr. Aroem's laboratory is one of the reference laboratories for diagnostic testing for COVID 19. In addition to conducting tests, she has instituted COVID-19 specific biorisk management procedures and practices and is also monitoring their health to prevent lab … Continue Reading