The   quarterly project monitoring  and coordinative activity of  CISCAI-PCUs two-man team   headed by Dr. Jose Edgardo Aban, CISCAI Project Coordinator and Mr. Bambang Wijayanto kicked-off last 28 May 2008,  with a  courtesy call and  meeting with Director General Phonpasit Phissamay and Director Valaxay Dalaloy at the Information Technology Research Institute (ITRI), in Vientiane, Laos People's Democratic Republic (PDR).    The meeting discussed salient issues  concerning the implementation of the  CISCAI  activities in   Laos PDR . Director General Phissamay elaborated on the   current developments  and initiatives of the Laos government as regards its  E-Government project. The Laos E-Government project  government  is in the process of  electronically linking  all ministries, databases and other organs in the capital city  of Vientiane, and throughout the country by the end of 2009, and with its fellow ASEAN members as well as with other countries, starting in 2010. He noted that  Laos E-Government  project is in full swing and has successfully   linked or in the process of linking  key  government agencies  using WIMAX (Wireless Interoperability for Microwave Access) technology, among which are the Ministries of Health and  Agriculture, which are likewise  major  Laos partners of  the CISCAI. The CISCAI project  will be a vital component of this process and will definitely complement Laos initiatives at using WIMAX technologies for government e-health service  and delivery.

Later in the day, the team visited   Mittanphab Hospital also locally known as Friendship  Hospital.  The CISCAI-PCU  met with  Dr. Snong Thongsna, Head of the Cardiology Department and CISCAI-Laos  focal point for  the said entity. The group made a brief tour of the  facility  and  conducted bandwidth measurements, as well as, technical network tests  to assess the  overall  integrity and reliability of the network in the said facility.  The Friendship Hospital connects to the internet via a WIMAX base station, located some 3 kilometers away.

On   Friday,  May 29, 2009, the CISCAI Team met with other  Laos CISCAI partner agencies  in three separate occasions,   namely  with  the Laos Ministry of Health (MOH) with Prof. Sithat Insisiengmay, Deputy  Director of  Department of Hygiene and Prevention;  Dr. Bounlum Douangngeum, Director of the National Animal Health Centre-Ministry of Agriculture (NAHC-MOA); and with  Mr. Noel Joseph Roch  and his team  from  the  National Avian and Human Influenza Coordination Office (NAHICO).

The CISCAI team made  brief presentations on the technical  aspects of the CISCAI Project. The CISCAI Project  does not intend to reinvent the wheel  nor  create a new (health) protocol for  avian flu  reporting and response, as these are already  existing in most agencies. What the CISCAI intends to do is to enhance existing health reporting and response systems and make them better and faster through the use of appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT), said Dr. Aban, during the presentations and  round table discussions that ensued.  All of them expressed sincere appreciation of and  interest on the project, as well as, their  desire to actively collaborate for CISCAIs success.  (CISCA-PCU)