/countries/nepal/whatsapp-image-2026-09-21-at-5-456-45-654.jpeg?sfvrsn=29886603_5 "A participant engaged in hands-on training to strengthen bacteriology services at subnational laboratories, held at Nepal’s National Public Health Laboratory")
The National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL), under the Ministry of Health and Food Safety, with support from WHO Nepal, conducted laboratory placement training for district-level laboratories from 21–25 September. The five-day placement training included five laboratory professionals from hospitals in Morang, Solukhumbu, Sindhupalchowk, Lahan and Kapilvastu districts with the objective to improve the practical competencies of the training participants through exposure to quality-assured microbiology laboratory practices in a national reference laboratory. The participants were identified through a joint needs assessment conducted by NPHL and Provincial Public Health Laboratories (PPHL).
During the placement, participants received hands-on training and one-to-one mentorship from experienced microbiologists, focusing on specimen collection, processing, culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing, equipment and reagent management, internal quality control, documentation, reporting and laboratory waste management. The placement also provided an opportunity to discuss the technical issues encountered at the respective hospitals during microbiology testing.
The training was part of WHO’s support to establish and strengthen bacteriology services at 21 district- and local-level hospitals, implemented between July 2025 and February 2026 with funding from The Pandemic Fund. The initiative seeks to help expand access to quality-assured microbiology diagnostics, support evidence-based treatment and generate reliable data for subnational antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance.