Strengthening public laboratory service in sub-Saharan Africa: Uganda case study

Abstract

In developed countries, the majority of medical decisions are made on the basis of quality laboratory testing according to established standards and enforced regulations. With the large investments of global health initiatives into resource-limited settings in sub-Saharan Africa, there is an opportunity to establish quality laboratory testing by overcoming barriers such as physical infrastructure, quality management plans according to external standards, and human resource capacity building. Strengthening laboratories could change the paradigm from empiric, algorithm-based clinical care to care based on accessible test-based accurate diagnoses.