Mobile COVID Testing Labs Open a New Chapter for Health Systems in Pakistan

By Dr. Muhammad Tariq

One of the critical lessons countries learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is that there is no substitute for planning, preparation, and investment in health systems infrastructure. And I am proud to be a partner in this ongoing effort on behalf of the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program-Procurement and Supply Management project (GHSC-PSM) in Pakistan.

In 2020, when COVID-19 first reached Pakistan, USAID and the Government of Pakistan immediately developed activities to counter the outbreak. However, collecting data on the spread of the virus in remote areas was a struggle, with testing facilities thin on the ground. GHSC-PSM partnered with Pakistan's Ministry of Health to increase diagnostic capacity on four mobile laboratories for COVID-19 PCR testing.

The project developed bilateral and technical specifications and convened a series of technical working group meetings with organizations, such as NIH, the Ministry of Health, WHO, and the U.S. Centers for Control (CDC). We procured equipment and the labs’ construction and prepared for the last stages of training and rollout. Ultimately, these labs transformed a straightforward procurement project into a broad-reaching health systems strengthening success and a new scope for health care access.

Each of the 50-foot BSL-2 mobile labs can conduct up to 1,000 PCR tests a day. They feature state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and technology that will improve diagnostic accuracy, reduce turnaround time for results from days to hours, and protect the health teams staffing the labs. The labs can also be repurposed and deployed for future infectious disease responses across the country.

Building and equipping these labs was not an easy process. GHSC-PSM had to overcome several challenges on the way, including security for the mobile labs, coordinating with multiple international partners, and weaving through government regulations. The project developed biosafety and biosecurity guidelines and operating procedures for the labs, trained technicians for sustainable operations and maintenance, secured insurance for the labs, and provided satellite tracking for when the labs were on the move. The project also secured NOCs and tax waivers from relevant government agencies and brought together the provincial departments of health to sign MOUs with the NIH and the country office.

On July 6, 2022, USAID formally handed over the mobile labs in a ceremony at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad, presided over by Pakistan's Federal Health Minister Mr. Abdul Qadir Patel and the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome.

Following the handover ceremony, the labs will roll out across Pakistan. Two will be dispatched to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, one to Sindh province, and the fourth will remain at NIH to be used in the federally administered areas of Islamabad, Gilgit Baltistan, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.?

The dream of bringing the brand-new capability of mobile diagnostic testing to Pakistan's people was possible only through a collaborative approach with our partners: Pakistan's federal and provincial governments, WHO, and the CDC.

COVID-19 started the conversation, and we anticipate it will lead to a tipping point for other patient-centric interventions in Pakistan.

Dr. Muhammed Tariq is Pakistan's Country Director for Chemonics, USAID's implementing partner for the GHSC-PSM project