Unlocking ability of public health leaders through a practical, participatory seminar in management of public health laboratory systems

APHL and George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services established the Institute for Public Health Laboratory Management in 2006 to meet a pressing need for strengthening the capability of national public health laboratory networks to provide quality services for surveillance, emergency response and reliable, timely information to guide public health treatment and prevention actions and long-term planning. Under the World Health Organization International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), member countries committed to developing core surveillance capacities to detect, report and respond to public health risks and emergencies of international concern. A strong public health laboratory is an essential component for addressing the array of known and new emergent health threats. However, the state of national public health laboratories and their networks is recognized as weak due to limited funding, insufficient staff and other constraints, and in 2005 when the IHR was issued there was no clear plan for strengthening this key component of the health system. The Institute has offered an annual two-week seminar from 2007-2012 and graduated 171 public health leaders from 28 countries, with 145 graduates from 18 African countries. The program was provided at GWU/SPHHS from 2007-2010, in Namibia in 2011 and Tanzania in 2012. The comprehensive program has evolved and shown that concrete improvements can be made in national public health laboratory systems as a result of participation by public health laboratory leaders in this intensive and interactive learning opportunity.