Russia has helped Burundi create a modern laboratory for diagnosing dangerous infections and also donated 200,000 COVID-19 tests, Rospotrebnadzor (Russia's Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) stated following a visit to Burundi by a delegation from the agency.
"The Rospotrebnadzor delegation visited the Republic of Burundi. On February 14, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, and the Ministry of Public Health and the Fight Against AIDS of the Republic of Burundi, Sylvie Nzeyimana, opened a new laboratory on the basis of the National Center for Public Health of the Republic, created with the support of Russia," the statement said.
According to the press service, the laboratory will serve as a base for the development of joint scientific research. It is equipped with Russian-made equipment and will become the most modern and high-tech in Burundi.
The agency also noted that in the laboratory, indication and identification of pathogens of infectious diseases, including especially dangerous ones, will be carried out using modern methods of molecular genetic research. The capacity allows about 2,000 PCR tests to be carried out per day to identify 12 pathogens, as well as more than 1,000 tests for antibodies.
In addition, 200,000 tests for diagnosis of COVID-19, manufactured by the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, were provided to the African country, the press service emphasized.
During Rospotrebnadzor's delegation's visit to the country, the parties also discussed bilateral cooperation in the field of ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population and biosecurity. In particular, the issues of combating cholera, poliomyelitis, monitoring natural foci of dangerous infections, training personnel were discussed, the agency explained.
Russia is ready to train Burundian specialists in the basics of biological safety, to assist in the organization of anti-epidemic measures to prevent the spread of especially dangerous infections that are relevant not only for Burundi, but also for the entire region of East Africa, the statement said.
"It is important to build up the potential of all states in the fight against epidemics. Localizing the infection where it originated is easier than trying to stop its cross-border spread," Popova said, as cited by the press release.
Medicine and healthcare are not the only field of cooperation between the two countries. Since the signing of a memorandum in 2021, Russia and Burundi have been working on the development of partnership in the peaceful nuclear sphere. In November 2022, Russia and Burundi signed a roadmap on organizing a dialogue on the peaceful use of nuclear energy involving a set of concrete actions planned for 2022-2024, such as evaluation of the prospects for nuclear power generation in the African country as well as realization of non-power nuclear projects.
The sides also agreed on holding technical seminars and developing plans for education and personnel training in this area of expertise.