Lessons from the Field
Practical recommendations for strengthening national and regional laboratory networks in Africa in the Global Health Security era
Submitted: 18 April 2016 | Published: 31 October 2016
About the author(s)
Michele Best, Corporate Director of Laboratories, Dimensions Healthcare System, Cheverly, Maryland, United StatesJean Sakande, Laboratory of Biochemistry, University of Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Abstract
The role of national health laboratories in support of public health response has expanded beyond laboratory testing to include a number of other core functions such as emergency response, training and outreach, communications, laboratory-based surveillance and data management. These functions can only be accomplished by an efficient and resilient national laboratory network that includes public health, reference, clinical and other laboratories. It is a primary responsibility of the national health laboratory in the Ministry of Health to develop and maintain the national laboratory network in the country. In this article, we present practical recommendations based on 17 years of network development experience for the development of effective national laboratory networks. These recommendations and examples of current laboratory networks, are provided to facilitate laboratory network development in other states. The development of resilient, integrated laboratory networks will enhance each state’s public health system and is critical to the development of a robust national laboratory response network to meet global health security threats.
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