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1st International Conference
Building National Biosafety and Global
Tiles
18-19th November 2011
The
Pakistan Biological Safety Association hosted First International
Biosafety Conference “Building National Biosafety and Global ties”
at Karachi Marriott Hotel, on November 18-19, 2011. This event was
funded by U.S State Department Biosecurity Engagement program (BEP).
This provided an opportunity to bring scientists and health care
workers from all the corners of Pakistan under one roof to discuss the
major challenges of Biosafety and Biosecurity in Pakistan. This also
provided an opportunity for international partners in the field to
share their experiences and develop networking with regional
scientists.
Four pre-conference workshops were organized at Ambassadors and
Diplomat Room at Karachi Marriott Hotel on Nov 18th .These
were enthusiastically attended by large number of participants. All
the workshops were full and several participants were turned down due
to limited seating. These workshops were conducted by professionals
who are expert in their fields and were based on small group
discussions and interactive sessions.
Workshop
themes were:
·
Responsible conduct of Science
·
Fundamentals of Biosafety
·
Specimen transport and IATA
regulations
·
Laboratory Designing and Engineering
controls
The “conference
day” proceedings were held on Nov 19th at Karachi
Marriot Hotel Marque. Dr Shami graced the occasion as Chief guest.
This conference was attended by more than 300 participants and
addressed by National and International speakers .Dr Irfan Shami, Dr
Khalid Banuri, Dr Maria Sultan, Dr Taek Men Chua(Asia pacific
Biosafety Association), Dr Willi Tonui (AfBSA),Dr Phillip Stroot, Dr
Jean Gratz, Dr Kathy Fiekert, Dr Aamir Ikram, Dr Altaf Ahmad and Dr
Shamsul Qasmi. Free papers were also selected and presented in both
morning and afternoon session. Topics selected were in line with the
conference themes. Areas highlighted were:
-
Policy initiatives
for building national framework
-
Role of associations
in developing regional/global ties
-
Alternative Biosafety options for low resource setting
-
Challenges in
development and functioning of BSL-3 labs in Pakistan
-
Biosafety
challenges: experiences from resource limited country other than
Pakistan
This
Conference provided an opportunity for local audience to interact with
the national and international experts and develop linkages and
networking.
The
overall aims of the conference (a) capacity building and (b)strengthening
the basic understanding of the concepts of Biosafety and Biosecurity
and highlight its importance in Pakistan were well accomplished.
This event
was also supported by Pakistan Diagnostics Association (PDA), who
participated actively by setting up stalls from Musaji Adams, Sure
diagnostics, B Braun, Becton Dickinson (BD), Sind Medical
Stores(SMS),,Roche, Purell, Oriental Sales Corporation, Pakistan State
Oil (PSO) and Muslim Trading agencies. These suppliers exhibited
state of the arts safety equipment and supplies and attracted large
number of audience.
PBSA would
like to thank the sponsors BEP and PDA, invited speakers and invited
guests and participants who made workshops and conference a great
success.
PBSA Newsletter 5th
& 6th
Issue March 2012
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