The World Health Organization (WHO)’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently conducted back-to-back training in Muscat, Oman. The training was organized in partnership with Oman’s national influenza centre to build capacity across the Region to support end-to-end integration of severe acute respiratory virus coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza sentinel surveillance and develop sequencing skills of national influenza centres.

The first training session on 6–10 November aimed to help establish Oman’s national influenza centre as an international sequencing centre for influenza and SARS-CoV-2. The centre would then be able to support regional capacity-building for end-to-end integrated surveillance and expansion of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 sequencing not only in Oman but other countries, in line with the goals of WHO’s Global Influenza Programme.