The WHO Public Health laboratories knowledge sharing platform was launched in May 2020 to support COVID-19 reference laboratories facing challenges such as: establishing and transferring SARS-CoV-2 testing protocols, facing reagent shortages and managing the decentralization of testing.The initiative quickly expanded to include a global audience of laboratory stakeholders. The primary tool used for knowledge sharing is regular webinars, the organization of which is coordinated by the WHO Public Health Laboratory Strengthening unit (Lyon office) together with WHO Regional Offices, with simultaneous interpretation in 6 languages (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish). In 2022, followers of the webinar series have also benefitted from a broadened scope of practice, with sessions now being offered on other epidemic-prone diseases and health emergencies and cross-cutting laboratory topics.
