Guatemala CDCE Site Visit to Colombia INS
Donning blue protective gowns, a delegation from Guatemala's Centro de Control de Enfermedades (CDCE) followed Colombia's Instituto Nacional de Salud (INS) leaders through the Virology Laboratory, on a step-by-step tour of INS's facilities and operations.
In addition to the laboratory, the group's study visit of INS included visits to and meetings with leadership from the institute's National Health Observatory, General Secretariat, and the Directorates of Vigilance and Risk Analysis and Production Management, among others.
The latest step in an ongoing partnership between Guatemala's newly established CDCE and Colombia's INS, this visit also provided the two NPHIs the opportunity to discuss the process and functionality of INS departments; exchange experiences and share lessons learned; and identify priorities for CDCE's development and future collaborations with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC), IANPHI, and INS.
As a result of the visit, CDCE has chosen to focus on developing the IRB process, decentralizing operations of the National Laboratory, and establishing research priorities as key next steps, and will continue to work with INS, U.S. CDC, and IANPHI going forward.
On May 11-12th, 2015 CDCE will host a workshop with the US CDC and IANPHI to define activities and priority areas for future collaboration.
Related link: Guatemala NPHI launches with health promotion, research focus