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PEPFAR Nigeria Deputy Principal Visits Defense Reference Laboratory

September 17, 2019, LTC(P) Julie Ake, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Deputy Principal for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and Deputy Director, U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP), Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) visited the Defense Reference Laboratory (DRL) of the Nigeria Ministry of Defense (NMOD), as part of its programmatic visit to its Nigerian sites. 

The DRL, located at the Nigerian Army’s Mogadishu Cantonment, is an internationally accredited facility that models a strong military to military collaboration aimed at addressing deadly infectious diseases affecting Nigeria and the world.  LTC(P) Ake was accompanied by the PEPFAR Country Coordinator, Mr. Mark Giambrone, the representative of the Director General, NMOD Health Implementation Programme (MODHIP), Brig. Gen. Adalanwa and the Country Director, U.S. Army Medical Research Directorate (USAMRD-A/N), Dr. Laura Chittenden. 

Led by the Director General of the laboratory, Brig. Gen. Mike Ebie, the visiting team was given a tour round the laboratory to see firsthand, its capabilities. COL LTC(P) Ake, who is an initiator of many clinical and research programs of the Partnership was impressed at the accomplishments of the laboratory. “I am proud of DRL and all the achievements it has recorded within this period. These achievements attest to the capabilities of the team and the work they are capable of doing.”