- National Institute of Health (Pakistan)
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National Institute of Health (NIH) is an agency of the Pakistan Ministry of Health and is the primary agency of the Pakistan government responsible for biomedical and health-related research.
NIH was created on June 18, 1948, it was originally located in Karachi. When the capital was shifted to Islamabad a special 650-acre (2.6 km2) area was acquired and developed for all health related agencies of the Federal Government.
NIH, located in Islamabad, is the only health institute in Pakistan, that prepares different kinds of vaccines like measles, rabies, typhoid, cholera, and antisera like antisnake venom serum and antirabies serum
The main sections of NIH are Biological Production Division, Drug Control and Traditional Medicine Division, Public Health Laboratories, Nutrition Division, Clinical Research Division. It has its own small laboratory animal's Animal house and a stable for horses used in antisera production.
Branches of other health agencies within the Institute include Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), Hepatitis Prevention & Cure (Hep P & C), National AIDS Control Programme, Blindness Control Programme, Health Management Information System, Disease Early Warning System.
There is a college at the heart of NIH, College of Medical Laboratory Technology (CMLT) which trains highly qualified laboratory technicians all across Pakistan.
Recent development is the establishment of a new state of the art BSL-3 Laboratory to handle BSL-3 viruses prevalent in the country.
External links
Categories:- Health in Pakistan
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