NHL to be first global central lab in Middle East: Minister

The National Health Laboratory (NHL) in Riyadh will soon be made the first global central laboratory in the Middle East, Health Minister Khalid Al-Falih has said here. 

As part of the development plan, the minister has issued directives to equip and operate the laboratory in such a way that it can play a vital role vis-a-vis national and international surveillance networks and top quality services.
In this regard, the NHL organized a workshop on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the technical specifications and preliminary design of the schemes, proposed for biosafety laboratories that are suggested to be established in the NHL. 
The scheme is aimed at ensuring the best results, by means of participation of specialists, as well as briefing on the global standards adopted in designing such laboratories. 
The two-day workshop comprised many worksheets and fruitful discussions, notably the definition of the project, a detailed presentation of the engineering designs of biosafety laboratories, the general specifications and engineering standards, and the laboratory equipment and furnishing, in addition to the preparation of the general specifications of the project.
The workshop also included many discussions on advanced devices that will be available at the NHL.
Dr. Ali bin Muhammad Al-Shanqeeti, CEO of the laboratory, said this project will be implemented at the highest international standards adopted for the establishment of such laboratories, in line with the global lab-style; so as to be the first of its kind in the Middle East. 
He said the NHL will play a key role in the diagnosis of communicable diseases and the identification of their high-risk causes that require a special control by a high-level specialized technical staff, in such a manner that helps the NHL achieve its objectives and move forward according to the road map set to it as part of the strategy of the MoH Agency for Laboratories and Blood Banks.
It is worth mentioning that this workshop was attended by a number officials from relevant departments in the MOH and a number of specialists in the field of laboratory, with participation of one of the international companies specialized in this domain. 
The participants paid a reconnaissance tour to the NHL headquarters here, which consists of four buildings housing laboratories, in addition to the three-story main building, which has offices of the administrative and technical staff, in addition to the scientific lectures at the auditorium.