Foundation stone laying ceremonies took place in Peshawar, Pakistan, on September 9th marking the construction start of a EUR 400,000 world-class tuberculosis (TB) biosafety level 3 (BSL 3) laboratory as part of the KfW funded ‘TB Control Programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’ project. EPOS is leading the implementation of this project in consortium with GOPA Consultants.

More than 50 people, representatives from BMZ, KFW Pakistan, Health Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar, Planning & Development Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, National TB Control Program Pakistan and partner organizations attended the ceremony. The unveiling of the foundation stone was conducted by Dr. Stefan Oswald, Head of Division, Afghanistan and Pakistan, German Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development and Dr. Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, Minister for Health, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Yousafzai stated, “The New Provincial Government believes to adopt innovative means and methods to effectively control diseases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by utilizing advanced scientific methods. Controlling TB is one of those efforts taken as priority by our Government”.

The BSL 3 laboratory will act as a centre of excellence, aiming to improve the diagnosis and treatment of TB patients, including those who have multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB. The laboratory will strengthen public sector TB services in the province while serving as an institution to build the laboratory staffing capacity necessary to ensure long term sustainability.

The laboratory is being built on the site of the Hayatabad Medical Complex in Hayatabad, Peshawar and the three year project team is being led by -Dr Mazhar Iqbal.

Dr. Oswald reaffirmed the commitment of the German Government towards improving the health and quality of the lives of the people of Pakistan by providing additional funds in various Health projects in the country and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa specifically.