The Department of Parasitology, officially designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre (WHOCC) for Malaria Diagnosis in June 2011, is the first, and until now, remains the only laboratory in the institute that holds this notable recognition. WHOCCs are institutions designated by the Director-General to form part of an international collaborative network carrying out activities supporting the Organization’s programmes at the regional and global levels; enhancing the scientific validity of its global health work; and developing and strengthening institutional capacity in countries and regions (http://who.int/collaboratingcentres/en/).

As WHOCC, we continuously implement activities that yield outcomes relevant to the regional and global goal of ensuring high quality malaria diagnosis:
a) Evaluate (through lot-testing) malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs)

Detects poor-performing RDT lots before in-country distribution and use.

b) Establish and maintain a regional malaria slide bank

Repository of high quality and well-characterized malaria blood films (MBFs) to support international/national competency assessments and trainings

c) External Quality Assessment (EQA) Programme for Malaria Microscopy

Provision of bi-annual panel testing to 14 national reference/public health laboratories from 9 countries

d) Expert services and technical advice on malaria microscopy

Validation of MBFs for therapeutic efficacy studies and national slide banks
Trainers/consultants for malaria microscopy and its QA/QC

Partners/Collaborators

World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland and WHO/WPRO, Philippines
Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), Geneva, Switzerland
Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC), Phnom Penh, Cambodia (with the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control)
Asian Collaborative Training Network for Malaria (ACTMalaria), Manila, Philippines

Funding Source/s

Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), Geneva, Switzerland
Asian Collaborative Training Network for Malaria (ACTMalaria), Manila, Philippines
WHO/WPRO, Philippines