There she met the people working at the Centre of Infectiology Lao Christophe Mérieux and the Mérieux Foundation and talked (online) with Dr. Sisavath Soutthaniraxay, Director of the Centre, and Dr. Benoît Chevalier, representing the Mérieux Foundation.

Dr. Phimpha Paboriboune, Scientific Director at the Centre of Infectiology Lao Christophe Mérieux, presented the activities of the Centre, including a research project in cooperation with the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), which was represented by Dr. Sabrina Locatelli.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Lombart, Project Manager at the Mérieux Foundation, also took part in the meeting.

Thanks to the support of the Mérieux Foundation, the Centre of Infectiology Lao Christophe Mérieux is the first and only laboratory in Lao PDR to have received accreditation for the ISO standards 15189 :2012 (quality of tests) and 15910 :2003 (safety requirements).

The Centre’s diagnosis, research and training activities focus mainly on HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis.

About the Centre of Infectiology Lao Christophe Mérieux

Inaugurated in 2009, the Centre of Infectiology Lao Christophe Mérieux is a public institution benefiting from a unique technical platform and unrivalled human expertise in Lao PDR. The result of a collaboration between the country’s Ministry of Health and the Mérieux Foundation, with funding from the Fondation Christophe et Rodolphe Mérieux, it also includes a Rodolphe Mérieux Laboratory, a leading research and diagnosis laboratory, and a conference centre.

Its activities focus mainly on HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis. In 2019, the Centre was awarded two accreditations for the ISO standards 15189 :2012 (quality of tests) and 15910 :2003 (safety requirements).