Makerere laboratory wins award

Jan 20, 2017

Such awards reflect government and partner commitment and efforts to strengthen laboratory services

The Makerere University-John Hopkins University Core Laboratory has been recognized and awarded winner of the Best Practice in Laboratory Medicine, by the African Society of Laboratory Medicine (ASLM).

It's located at the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) in the Mulago Hospital complex.

The best practice for which MU-JHU/IDI laboratory received the winner award was titled 'World Class Monitoring and Appraisal of Quality Indicators'.

This was revealed on Thursday by the Health Minister Jane Aceng while speaking to media during an update on Uganda's recent achievements in the National Laboratory Diagnostics and Surveillance service.

She noted that such awards reflect government and partner commitment and efforts to strengthen laboratory services to assume their central place in health care delivery. She also said the awards signify a great achievement by the Uganda's Ministry of Health on the African continent, especially given that the selection process was highly competitive.

"Remember that in 2012, Uganda's Central Public Health Laboratories (CPHL) EID laboratory, MU-JHU/IDI laboratory and the TB laboratory won all the 3 wards that were given in that category, "she stated.

Aceng said in 2014, Uganda's CPHL Sample Transport System and UVRI Haemorrhagic Fever Laboratory won 2 of the 3 awards given in the Best Practice category.

In 2016 Uganda's (CPHL) Viral Load Laboratory and MU-JHU/IDI laboratory won 2 of the 3 awards that were given in the best practice category.

In the same year, 2016 Uganda was selected to have the best national viral load strategy and the most efficient viral load laboratory. Uganda's viral load strategy has seen the country scale up viral load nationally in less than 2 years.

"Among countries that started implementing viral load monitoring at the same time with Uganda, most of them have not even reached half of national coverage" said Aceng.

"Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Health and its partners has undertaken a number of notable interventions towards laboratory service improvement" she added.

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