Dr Susan Nabadda, Commissioner Laboratory Services appointed the Interim chair of the Laboratory directors of Africa Forum.

While marking her remarks during the official opening of the biennial ASLM conference 2023 in Cape Town, Dr Nabadda said Laboratory Directors Forum is a platform recognized and endorsed by African Union Member States to bring together African continental leaders in laboratory services from the 55 member states to shape the laboratory agenda, define priorities, and harness individual countries’ strengths, capabilities, and success to further build laboratory capacity in Africa.

The African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) launched the Laboratory Directors’ Forum (LabDF) in partnership with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in Addis Ababa, in 2022.

“As Africans we believe in African solutions created by Africa and so the Laboratory directors forum will help to transform laboratory best practice in Africa Our core business is to bring the leaders in laboratory services to shape the high level laboratory agenda for the continent , define priorities harness some of the individual countries success and enable the forum of constant exchange of knowledge and information for senior leaders,” Dr Nabadda said.

She also called upon the National Governments, donors and partners TO BREAK THE SILOS and take lead in diagnostic integration, and actively transition from funding and supporting vertical disease programs to more integrated diagnostic systems.