Tajikistan: Laboratory and Surveillance activities

Tajikistan is 1 of 6 Member States in the WHO European Region that will receive support from the PIP Framework Partnership Contribution (PC) in the area of Laboratory and Surveillance (L&S) through 2016.  

The PIP Framework brings together Member States, industry, other stakeholders and WHO to implement a global approach to pandemic influenza preparedness and response. It aims to: 

• improve the sharing of influenza viruses with human pandemic potential; and
  
• achieve more equitable access for Member States in need of pandemic vaccines and medicines used in a pandemic

Implementation

The first L&S mission to Tajikistan funded by the PIP Framework Partnership Contribution was conducted by WHO/Europe in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in September 2014. During this mission, the State Sanitary Epidemiological Surveillance Service (SSESS), 2 laboratories (Virology Laboratory of SSESS and of the Institute of Preventive Medicine), and possible sentinel sites were visited. The sentinel surveillance system was reviewed at national and site levels, and the individual laboratories were evaluated using the WHO National Influenza Centre Laboratory Assessment Tool (NIC-LAT).

Several recommendations were defined based on the outcomes of the assessments, including revision of a national guideline on influenza sentinel surveillance. WHO/Europe will assist Tajikistan to execute these recommendations.