Paediatrics Immunology unit at PGI Chandigarh gets WHO accreditation

Chandigarh: Marking a significant achievement, the immunology unit at the Advanced Paediatrics Centre (APC) of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI Chandigarh) has become the first paediatric immunology unit in the world to receive a World Health Organization (WHO) accreditation, which would now serve as a collaborating centre for education, research and training in paediatric immunology.

With this, PGIMER would now become the centre for paediatricians from South-East Asia for cooperation in the field of paediatric immunology. It is a specialized centre that works on immune deficiency disorders and the rare kawasaki disease.

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"The APC will now host a series of events and continuing medical education (CME) programmes for paediatricians from South-East Asia region, both in online and physical form. This is a huge success and recognition for the institute and will help in saving many young lives," the doctors at APC were quoted while speaking to HT.

Advanced Pediatric Centre is a multispeciality facility dedicated to the care of children, which was inaugurated in 1997 by Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, which is equipped with modern facilities for treatment, teaching and research. It was set up in 1992 by Dr Lata Kumar and is now a leading paediatric immunology unit in India.

In 2020, it became the only centre in India to be accredited as “Centre of Excellence” by Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology (APLAR).

Taking to Twitter, Union minister for health and family welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya wrote, "The immunology unit at Advanced Paediatrics Centre, PGIMER, Chandigarh, has been accredited as a WHO collaborating centre for education, research and training in paediatric immunology. This is the first time that a paediatric immunology unit has been accredited anywhere in the world."

PGIMER is the only centre in India which is recognized for advanced research in primary immunodeficiency diseases by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It is also the only institute in India which offers a three-year super-specialty advanced doctorate of medicine (DM) course in paediatric clinical immunology and rheumatology.

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