04/03/2024 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Disease (ECTAD) is spearheading efforts to enhance laboratory quality assurance (QA) in Eastern and Southern Africa. To further advance these efforts, FAO  organized a workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, from 4 to 7 March 2024.

The workshop brought together QA managers from national veterinary diagnostic laboratories and ECTAD national laboratory experts. The initiative, supported by USAID Global Health Security Program, aims to ensure the production of reliable and credible results in veterinary diagnostic laboratories across the region. By implementing quality systems aligned with international standards, such as ISO/IEC 17025:2017, FAO and its partners are paving the way for more effective disease surveillance and response.

Key objectives of the workshop

The objectives of the workshop include mapping and evaluating country-specific progress in implementing quality management systems, highlighting progress on national and regional QA roadmaps, and training ECTAD national laboratory experts on QMS implementation. Additionally, the workshop aims to appoint regional QA focal points and assist countries in networking and partnership building for laboratory QA.

On the sidelines of his participation in the collaborative sessions of the second Quadripartite Executive Annual Meeting (QEAM) in Nairobi ( from 4 to 6 March 2024), Thanawat Tiensin, Director of Animal Production and Health Division (NSA) at FAO, addressed the participants of this regional workshop. He emphasized the significant strides Africa and Ethiopia are making towards agri-food system transformations, highlighting their commitment to sustainable development and food security in the region. Charles Bebay, FAO ECTAD Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Manager, representing the FAO Kenya representative, noted that "This workshop is a crucial step towards enhancing laboratory quality standards in the ESA regions."

Participants  engaged in theoretical sessions, group work, and plenary discussions, drawing on working documents such as Country Joint External Evaluation (JEE) assessment reports on National Laboratory Systems/Quality Assurance and national QA roadmaps.

The workshop signifies a significant milestone in strengthening laboratory quality standards in the Eastern and Southern Africa region, ultimately enhancing disease surveillance and response capabilities. FAO ECTAD and its partners remain committed to ensuring the reliability and credibility of laboratory results to safeguard animal and human health in the region.

For more information:

Yanira Santana

Outreach and Emergency Reporting

FAO ECTAD Africa

Email : [email protected]