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Experts call for strengthening medical labs in Africa

Xinhua, October 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Medical experts have called on African governments to invest more in innovation to build better national health labs for effective healthcare delivery.

They made the call on Tuesday during the second day of the biannual meeting of the Association of Pathologists of East, Central and Southern Africa (APECSA) in the Rwandan capital Kigali.

"National health laboratories are unique in that they cut across all areas of every country's national health systems delivery. High quality laboratories play a key role in managing pandemic diseases as soon as they occur," said Yawale Iliyasu, president West African Division of the International Academy of Pathology.

He emphasized the importance of investing in research and innovations to enhance medical labs to provide timely, accurate and reliable results to support diagnosis, surveillance and outbreak investigations.

Muthoni Kirimi, a Kenya-based pathologist and anatomical specialist, said African governments should galvanize partnerships for research, technology and innovation development required by national medical labs for enhanced surveillance and diagnosis of future killer diseases.

"Creating an atmosphere of quality in pathology laboratories, with emphasis on adoption of quality assurance and proficiency programs, is critical for setting standards in pandemic diseases diagnosis," She said.

At the forum, inadequate funding was cited as a major challenge to research and innovation in Africa. Health experts called for a sustainable financing mechanism in Africa to support local technology development and innovation.

The meeting further noted a neglect of some national health laboratories in sub-Saharan Africa, which inhibits their ability to immediately manage epidemics in early stages.

Scheduled from Oct. 24 to 26, the meeting has brought together about 200 pathologists from sub-Saharan Africa and beyond to discuss ways of strengthening pathology services in the region.

APECSA is a professional body that seeks to advance pathology and its training in East, Central and Southern Africa. Endit