The National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) in collaboration with the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) kicked off a five-day training workshop on the effective management of the National External Quality Assessment (EQA) Program for medical laboratories in Liberia in the context of Covid-19.
The workshop which is being held at the Cape Hotel in Mamba Point, Monrovia commenced on Monday, November 14, 2022, and will end on Friday, November 18, 2022.
During the opening session, Mr. Fahn Taweh, the director of the National Reference Laboratory of Liberia (NRL) thanked the African Society for Laboratory Medicine for the conduct of the workshop in Liberia.
He admonished the participants to make use of this opportunity that is intended to further build and strengthen their capacities. “External Quality Assessment is very essential for the effective management of any laboratory and this training workshop is a perfect opportunity for us as a country, “he averred.
Dr. Valantine N. Ndze, ASLM GHSA ITF-COVID-19 Project Manager for Liberia commended the National Public Health Institute of Liberia, the Ministry of Health and US CDC Liberia for their collaboration with ASLM in ensuring that medical laboratory personnel are trained to effectively manage the National External Quality Assessment Program in the context of COVID-19.
According to Dr. Ndze, this is a project with support from the US CDC through the ITF COVID-19 response to expand and improve Public Health Laboratory Strategies and Systems in four West African countries (Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Malawi). “At the end of this training, we will expect the participants to cascade this to their various labs”, he indicated. Additionally, Dr. Ndze further disclosed “we will monitor the various medical laboratories to evaluate the implementation of the training”. The workshop is being facilitated by Dr. Jean Emile Njab, ASLM EQA Expert Consultant.
One of the participants G. Burgess Gbelee, Jr, a Medical Laboratory Technologist, expressed gratitude to the organizers for the opportunity to gain new skills. He is the first Liberian to be trained in Covid-19. He collected and diagnosed the first Covid case in Liberia.
