Donor: EU – CARDS
Budget: 1,980,660 EUR
Project Description:
Serbia has one national and 22 regional Institutes of Public Health (IPH), all of which have laboratory facilities and which are responsible for drinking water and food safety, environmental testing and clinical microbiology. The laboratories suffered from many shortcomings (staff isolated from modern know-how, overstaffing in some areas, legal framework not properly aligned with EU legislation for sanitary testing, incomplete methods for controlling laboratory quality and poor public image).
In order to solve all these shortcomings, the specific objectives of the project were:
- Reliable and comparable quality of laboratory services through the implementation of a National Reference Laboratory Centre (RLC);
- Cost-effective IPH laboratory services, through strategic upgrading of laboratory management, know-how and equipment, and improvement of communication and collaboration between laboratories;
- Optimised use of Public Health Laboratory Services by supporting communication and collaboration with clients (patients, doctors in primary health care, authorities, and industries);
- Improved image of the IPH Laboratories, through improved information and visual support to clients.