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WADA Outlines Laboratory Network Strategy

2013-10-14 10:29 WADA

October 11, 2013 - Following the recommendations made at its meeting in Buenos Aires on September 11, the WADA Executive Committee has outlined WADA’s strategy for the anti-doping laboratory network.

In accordance with the Laboratory Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendation to restrict the number of laboratories to 40, the Executive Committee will maintain its commitment to this number for the next five years.

It has been decided that any future approval of new laboratories by the Executive Committee will be based upon the identified needs in each particular region of the world. No additional laboratories will be approved in Europe (with the exception of the re-accreditation of Turkey), Oceania, North America and Central America. Meanwhile, there is support for two additional laboratories in Latin America.

Support will be given to developing a program to strengthen the analytical capability of the Bloemfontein laboratory in South Africa, and a further new laboratory in the northern part of Africa. A third laboratory in the central region of Africa will be examined, and thereafter development encouraged. Central to the approval of new laboratories anywhere in the world, however, will be the requirement that the host country has in place a robust and compliant anti-doping program.

A key part of future strategy is the support for collaborative activities. WADA will increasingly support the usage of existing laboratories for major events,. Furthermore, cooperation amongst WADA anti-doping laboratories will be encouraged, in particular for conducting specific analyses that require costly or high-technology equipment.

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