The WHO Workplace in Lyon, France -; a Centre of Excellence in strengthening public well being laboratories -; contributes to international well being safety and helps nations in constructing stronger well being emergency capacities. At this time, the Workplace is celebrating its twentieth anniversary.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director Basic and His Excellency Olivier Véran, French Minister of Well being, delivered video remarks on the high-level, twentieth anniversary occasion.
Now we have discovered from the COVID-19 disaster that we have to go additional to higher put together and reply to tomorrow’s well being emergencies. The WHO Lyon Workplace can have an vital position to play on this future international well being structure.”
Minister Olivier Véran
The occasion was hosted by WHO and the Lyon Métropole, represented by Bruno Bernard, President of Lyon Metropole and attended by varied native, regional, nationwide and international public well being actors such because the Mérieux Basis.
WHO and its companions have joined forces by making a WHO workplace based mostly in Lyon, 20 years in the past, to strengthen epidemic preparedness and response, notably in nations with much less developed well being assets and infrastructure.
“The Lyon Workplace is enjoying a robust position in WHO’s international preparedness, readiness and response to illness epidemics and pandemics, together with COVID-19,” mentioned Dr. Mike Ryan, Govt Director, WHO Well being Emergencies Programme. “It has emerged as Centre of Excellence in strengthening public well being laboratories, exhibiting that the collective imaginative and prescient and funding of the WHO and the founding companions of the Lyon Workplace has borne fruit. I thank the French authorities, the Lyon Metropole and all of the Lyon Workplace technical and monetary companions for his or her steady and invaluable help previously 20 years and sooner or later.”
This occasion introduced collectively many dignitaries and high-ranking officers akin to:
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Dr Mike Ryan, Govt Director, WHO Well being Emergencies Programme (WHE)
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Dr Jaouad Mahjour, Assistant Director Basic, Emergency Preparedness, WHE
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Pr. Jérôme Salomon, French Well being Director-Basic
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Her Excellency Stéphanie Seydoux, French Ambassador for World Well being
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Mr. Bruno Bernard, President, Lyon Métropole
“The Lyon Métropole is a long-standing companion of WHO. At this time, it continues its 20-year dedication to the Lyon Workplace, which contributes to the scientific management and powerful dynamism of the well being sector within the area and past. Its position was, and stays, essential within the context of the COVID-19 disaster, notably by way of standardization of intervention practices and coordination between nations, though crises typically set off withdrawal into oneself and exacerbates worldwide competitors. I’m delighted that the Places of work’ groups will quickly be capable to be a part of, within the coronary heart of the Bio-district of Lyon, the constructing which can even home the WHO Academy. This can encourage synergies inside WHO and with stakeholders inside our ecosystem, to fulfill present and future well being challenges. We’re, thus, reaffirming, via you, the contribution of France and the Lyon Metropole to international well being,” highlighted Bruno Bernard, President, Lyon Metropole
The occasion additionally attracted a panel of world and nationwide consultants from nations, nationwide well being businesses, the scientific group in Lyon and France and WHO, to debate and share experiences on crucial facets of public well being laboratories in well being emergencies.
COVID-19 has demonstrated the worth of quality-assured and well-managed public well being laboratories within the prevention, detection and management of illness outbreaks, which saves lives and assets. When the pandemic struck, the Lyon Workplace assisted 1000’s of laboratories in additional than 100 nations to enhance the standard of their testing capability for COVID-19. It rapidly constructed a web-based group for 1000’s of laboratory professionals from greater than 180 nations so they may have interaction, study and collaborate with one another. It additionally supported the diagnostics pillar of the Entry to COVID-19 Instruments (ACT) Accelerator.
Over the previous 20 years, the Lyon Workplace has performed an important position in WHO’s preparedness and response to illness outbreaks and supported nations to:
- scale up laboratory capacities for secure, dependable and well timed testing for epidemics and pandemics
- develop quality-assured laboratory networks complying with worldwide accreditation requirements
- develop the general public well being laboratory workforce
As a Centre of Excellence in strengthening public well being laboratories, the Lyon Workplace helps Member States to foster the following technology of laboratory managers and leaders, who can construct and maintain robust laboratory methods in nations. It has pioneered and launched the World Laboratory Management Programme initiative and partnered with specialised international well being businesses that work on the intersection of animal-human-environmental well being, aligned with the One Well being method.
As well as, the Lyon Workplace has developed main experience in designing interactive coaching programmes and self-learning modules to strengthen the abilities and information of frontline well being staff and professionals in emergency preparedness, readiness and response. International locations, organizations and well being professionals can construct their very own coaching programmes and study from and collaborate with one another by accessing the Well being Safety Studying Platform (HSLP) hosted by the Lyon Workplace, which presents a wealthy pool of coaching assets and studying instruments.
To stop and mitigate the unfold of illness throughout an outbreak, the Lyon Workplace guides nations and helps to construct their capacities in making use of a scientific, risk-based method whereas organizing and monitoring mass gatherings and deciding health-related protocols and measures for worldwide travellers and cross-border motion
The synergies the Lyon Workplace builds with the wealthy metropolitan well being ecosystem and, tomorrow, with the WHO Academy that can host it, are essential to higher put together nations and populations for the well being dangers they face.
The way forward for international well being safety rests on a far better dedication to and funding in emergency preparedness and readiness. With the important and long-lasting help of a number of technical and monetary companions and the steadfast help of the French authorities and the Lyon Metropole, the WHO Lyon Workplace is decided to proceed serving to nations to develop their preparedness and response capacities for all hazards.
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