FAO laboratory mapping tool results analysis for veterinary laboratories from 2012 to 2020: highlights of the gaps, the strengths across Southeast Asia and implications for capacity building activities.

Introduction: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) developed the Laboratory Mapping Tool (FAO-LMT) Core module in 2010 to assess the general activities and capacities of central veterinary laboratories. Indeed, the FAO-LMT Core can determine strengths and gaps in laboratory functionality to define mechanisms and targets for capacity building to fill the measured gaps. This article analyzes FAO-LMT-Core evaluation data on 5 areas and 17 categories across 10 Southeast Asian countries, including 32 national and sub-national laboratories, from 2012 to 2020. This result creates a premise for improving, upgrading, and investing in laboratories. They also provide valuable and objective insight into the main constraints veterinary laboratories face in Southeast Asia. Objective: The article aims to identify and assess the gaps and strengths of veterinary laboratories in Southeast Asia. Methods: Thirty-two national and subnational laboratories participated in the assessment using the FAO's Laboratory Mapping Tool (LMT)-Core module. The results of the LMT assessment were collected from 2012 to 2020, depending on each laboratory. All data from the 32 laboratories in the 10 countries have been reviewed, summarized, and analyzed from a regional perspective; for laboratories displaying several LMT-Core assessments, the results from the latest evaluation were used for this regional analysis. Results: The 32 laboratories from 10 ASEAN countries assessed in this study obtained an overall high result for the LMT-Core (mean average score = 60%; min: 23%, max: 82%). Most of them show a steady increase in the laboratory functionality of veterinary diagnostic laboratories. Laboratories already at a relatively higher level have managed to maintain their status, and those specifically targeted by support programs have increased their scores significantly. Conclusion: Efforts and investments in the laboratories included in this study have impacted the routine activity of these facilities, and the LMT-Core module can be applied to monitor the progress objectively and in a harmonized manner; the importance of using a standardized questionnaire is undeniable. To strengthen health security in the ASEAN region, it is crucial to maintain the current regional programs on quality assurance and biosafety/biosecurity, to encourage the various governments to ensure access to an adequate laboratory budget, to develop a veterinary laboratory policy and to link this policy to the ASEAN regional framework for laboratory capacity building and networking in ASEAN. It will help ensure the sustainable development of veterinary laboratories within ASEAN.