JICA-funded biosafety level-3 laboratory inaugurated in Ho Chi Minh City

According to Deputy Director of the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City Hoang Quoc Cuong, the biosafety laboratory was built in June 2021. Despite facing many difficulties in the construction process due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the enthusiastic support of the Ministry of Health, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), JICA and the contractor, the work was completed within half a year.

The previous mobile BSL-3 laboratory of Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City was not large enough, so the processing of patient samples was limited, shared Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office Shimizu Akira, adding that JICA's support in building the biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory will help Vietnam to further strengthen its ability to deal with infectious diseases.

Currently, in a project on strengthening the capacity of the laboratory system for biosafety and testing of dangerous infectious disease agents for the 2017-2023 period, 3 Japanese experts are working towards the goal of enhancing capacity for laboratories at NIHE and the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, along with other key testing institutions in Vietnam.

JICA will also continue to work under the direction of the Japanese Government to support Vietnam in the prevention and control of COVID-19.