Sixteen Ministry of Health participants have completed training in the Shipping of Infectious Substances and Laboratory Biosafety Practices.
The programme was facilitated by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and carried out by their certified trainers.
A press release on the recently concluded training said it was aimed at increasing the cadre of persons in Guyana with essential knowledge and practical skills on how to safely prepare and ship infectious materials, and to increase the compliance of CMS with World Health Organization International Health Regulations (WHO IHR).
The release added that participants engaged in an intensive curriculum that combined theoretical and practical instruction covering a range of topics including waste disposal; materials management and chemical safety; biosafety audits and monitoring; shipping of infectious substances/practical assessment packaging; handling, and emergency response.
According to Executive Director at CARPHA Joy St. John, the Agency underscores the importance of maintaining IATA certification and has been in operation since 2016 with Member States.
“The Agency has been working since 2016 with Member States on improving national capacities for biosafety and biosecurity, which are key components for national and regional health security. To date, more than 300 laboratory personnel from CARPHA Member States (CMS) have been trained in how to safely prepare shipments of infectious substances,” she stated.
The release further stated that, through its Medical Microbiology Laboratory, CARPHA has been working within the Caribbean Region to promote and support the achievement of regional health security through compliance with the WHO IHR and increased laboratory capacity to respond to public health threats and/or public health emergencies.
Furthermore, Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control at CARPHA noted,
“Our region continues to face both old and new public health challenges. These include non-communicable diseases, natural disasters, and emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. As such, it is important that we have the capacity to respond at the national and regional levels to safely and quickly respond to these situations. Having teams of trained and certified shippers in the public health systems allows us to do just that”.
The one-week training workshop, which was funded by the Republic of Korea-CARICOM Cooperation Fund, was held from May 20-27 at the National Public Health Laboratory. The project supports regional and national level workshops in the Shipping of Infectious Substances, as well as the enhancement of other biosafety and biosecurity measures in CARPHA Member States.
During the coming months CARPHA will conduct a series of Training Workshops in Member States, the release said.
