GLDA’s veterinary lab recertified to international standards

The Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) has recently received its recertification of its Veterinary Services Laboratory under the GYS 170:2021 standard by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS).
The laboratory, located at GLDA’s Headquarters in Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD) is Guyana’s sole public veterinary diagnostic facility and a cornerstone of Guyana’s animal health infrastructure.

The GYS 170:2021 certification outlines rigorous requirements for the technical operation and quality assurance systems of testing and calibration laboratories. GLDA’s adherence to this framework highlights its sustained commitment to delivering accurate, reliable, and scientifically validated veterinary diagnostic services. At the simple recertification handover ceremony, representatives of the GNBS Certification Department, including Technical Officer Peter Ho-A-Lim and Administrative Clerk Faith Phillips, formally presented the recertification plaque to GLDA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Dwight Walrond, and Laboratory Quality Manager, Cherie Rampertab, in the presence of Deputy CEO (Technical), Dr Praimnauth Tihul; Laboratory Manager (Ag.) among others.
In his remarks, Dr Walrond emphasised that the recertification reaffirms GLDA’s commitment to quality.
“Our laboratory plays a vital role in disease surveillance, outbreak response, and livestock certification for domestic and export markets. Recertification under this standard assures our farmers, partners, and regional stakeholders that our services meet the highest quality standards.”
The certification process evaluated key operational elements, including staff competence, methodological integrity, equipment calibration, and result traceability. This recertification reinforces stakeholder confidence in the laboratory’s capacity to support surveillance, outbreak detection, livestock certification, and food safety assurance, all of which are essential to both public health and trade facilitation.
The GLDA’s Veterinary Services Laboratory plays an important role in advancing the country’s livestock sector through its wide array of diagnostic services, including parasitology, bacteriology, serology, pathology and molecular diagnostics. These services underpin national initiatives, such as the African Swine Fever (ASF) surveillance programme, as well as brucellosis, Foot and mouth disease, avian influenza, tuberculosis, and rabies testing, among other infectious livestock diseases. The laboratory’s certification assures both local and international partners that results issued are not only technically robust but also internationally accepted, thereby bolstering Guyana’s credentials in regional trade and veterinary public health.
The GLDA Veterinary Laboratory now functions as a key national and regional resource in veterinary diagnostics, participating in collaborative disease surveillance efforts and serving as a reference institution aligned with World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) standards. Its certification status not only strengthens national resilience to transboundary animal diseases such as ASF but also supports Guyana’s ambitions of becoming a hub for safe, sustainable, and export-ready livestock production in the Caribbean.