FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics, has partnered with CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrated Biology), New Delhi to aid India’s fight against COVID-19 by boosting sequencing capacity across the country.

The partnership aims to decentralise genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2, down to the district level by setting up MicroLabs that enable sequencing, analysis and interpretation of sequencing data with minimal turnaround time and infrastructure limited settings. 

As a co-lead of the Diagnostics Pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, FIND is supporting India’s efforts towards the establishment of a robust genomic surveillance system. 

The partnership will provide strategic guidance to incorporate next-generation sequencing into broader national disease surveillance frameworks and inform data analyses, management and sharing based on global data policies and guidelines. It will provide a platform for knowledge-sharing and lessons learnt to inform national capacity-building efforts and policy guidance.