The testing laboratory is a sampling facility, meaning that samples will be received by MoPH, will be tested at FMIC and the results will be shared back with MoPH after processing. The laboratory will help process over 100 tests per day – during a period when Covid-19 positive cases are on the rise in Afghanistan. The testing lab was established away from the main facilities of the hospital so normal operations at the hospital could continue without Covid-19 restrictions.

The French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children (FMIC) is a tertiary teaching hospital established as the product of a unique four-way partnership between the Governments of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and France and two private, international development organisations – La Chaîne de l’Espoir and the AKDN. It was established in 2006 to address a serious lack of human resources in various specialties. Many Afghans were forced to go abroad. Since 2006, it has sought to provide services and train the human resources needed by the country while offering “safe, comprehensive, accessible and sustainable services to Afghanistan and surrounding regions” and “positively impacting the lives of patients and all others whom it serves”.