PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government planned to establish a state-of-the-art Public Health Reference Laboratory at the Khyber Medical University (KMU) and Institute of Basic Medical Sciences (IBMS). The Health Department would establish the laboratory in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad. A team of WHO comprising Dr Uzma Aamir, Virologist, NIH, Islamabad and Dr Pervez Kamal, DG Health Services KP, Dr Shaheen Afridi, Deputy Director Health, and Dr Irfan Ali Shah, Assistant Director Public Health visited KMU and discussed in detail the draft points of the proposed memorandum of understanding with its management. KMU Vice-Chancellor Dr Hafizullah received the team. Dr Jawad Ahmad, Director IBMS, Dr Ziaul Haq, Director ORIC and Dr Yasir Yousafzai of IBMS attended the meeting with representatives of World Health Organisation and the Health Directorate. The main purpose of the visit was to proceed with the development of necessary structural modification and logistic plans to develop the Public Health Reference Laboratory. The establishment of laboratory at a medical university is stated to be a unique experiment of its kind in the region. It will be the first and only provincial Public Health Reference Laboratory after the NIH and is a moment of pride for the provincial Health Department and KMU. The core function of Public Health Reference Laboratory will be to advise the Health Department on health related matters particularly diagnosis and prevention of diseases and investigation of epidemics. The lab will also act as reference centre for the diagnosis and surveillance of disease particularly infectious diseases. The participants of the meeting agreed that in the initial five-year plan, two floors of the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences building will be allocated for Public Health Reference Laboratory, which will initially be focusing on lab confirmation for communicable diseases; the ambit of which will be further expanded to non-communicable diseases in the future.