Orientation Meeting on Global Action Plan for Polio Containment and Audit Documentation for National Authority of Containment

Location: Pune, India

Date: 11-13 August 2026

Participants:

Expert on laboratory biosafety and biosecurity, NAC secretariat, members from India Audit team, Officials and members from two polio essential facilities; National Institute of Virology, Pune and Reliance Industries, WHO-Headquarter, Geneva, WHO-SEARO, India
Purpose: The Orientation meeting build capacity of NAC secretariat, audit teams and PEFs in India on strengthening Certificate of Containment (CC) application documentation from NAC to CWG.




Details:

In collaboration with WHO Headquarters, WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO)-IVD, and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), an orientation programme was conducted for members of India-National Authority for Containment (NAC), the containment audit team, and representatives from the two designated PEFs of the country. The programme focused on the WHO Global Action Plan to Minimize Poliovirus Facility-Associated Risk (GAPIV) and provided an overview of the global Containment Certification Scheme poliovirus containment framework (CCS), the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, and the requirements for certification of facilities retaining poliovirus infectious or potentially infectious materials. Participants were sensitized to the latest containment standards and the critical importance of maintaining robust biosafety, biosecurity, and quality management systems to mitigate facility-associated risks.



The orientation also provided detailed guidance on the documentation and evidence requirements for obtaining and maintaining the Certificate of Containment (CC) or Interim Certificate of Containment (ICC) of Poliovirus, including audit preparedness, risk assessment, incident management, training records, and facility compliance requirements. As a key outcome, participants gained an improved understanding of GAPIV requirements, strengthened their capacity to conduct and support containment audits, and enhanced readiness of the two PEFs to prepare for the containment certification process. The activity fostered closer coordination among the NAC, auditors, PEFs, WHO, and ICMR, and resulted in a shared roadmap for addressing documentation gaps and advancing India's progress toward achieving and sustaining compliance with global poliovirus containment standards.

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Authors:

Dr Vinod Bura and Liliane Boualam
WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia
IVD Coordinator IVD-SEARO and Technical Officer (Polio Containment) WHO-HQ

Photos: Orientation meeting in progress, © WHO SEARO