Dr Ignatius A. N. Awinibuno, Director of Allied Health of the Ministry of Health (MOH) says sustainable funding arrangements with governments committing to diagnostics and research would unlock the future of diagnostics systems in the country.
He said the continent has come to a crossroads and only concrete and innovative measures could make diagnostics systems the fulcrum around which universal health coverage (UHC) could be attained.
He said the role of the laboratory workforce is critical to the provision of quality diagnostics, management of case surveillance and global security efforts.
He said the capacity-building workforce should cross clinical and health services boundaries to encompass one health policy and environmental-climate concerns.
Dr Awinibuno, who leads Ghana’s Delegation to the Sixth Biennial Conference of the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM2023) in Cape Town, South Africa disclosed these to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines.
The ASLM2023 conference is being held u
nder the theme ‘Shaping laboratory systems and diagnostics services for the 21st Century: Embracing the Change.’
He added that strengthening laboratory systems in terms of including governance workforce training, infrastructure, equipment, consumables, accreditation, research, and development is crucial to ensuring effective and efficient laboratory services which form the backbone for quality healthcare delivery.
He said optimising lab networks and diagnostics, transforming diagnostics through AI, robotic technology, molecular lab testing, pathogen genomics and bioinformatics are crucial to the provision of modern diagnostic services and must be embraced.
The Director reiterated that the Government of Ghana has taken laudable initiatives in the manufacture of vaccines and the same could be extended to the local manufacture of diagnostics.
‘Ghana has also taken initiatives in the direction of developing a National Essential Devices List and would soon join Nigeria as one of the few countries to finalise a
nd implement its National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL).
Dr Gifty Boateng, Head of National Public Health Reference Laboratory said the ASLM is a platform to optimise scientific ideas towards deploying technology to scale up diagnostics systems in the country and Africa in general.
She said strengthening lab governance is crucial to ensuring sustainable and strong lab services and surveillance.
Dr Abu Rahamani, President of the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists promotes continuous professional development and ethics in lab services in quality healthcare delivery and therefore the ASLM conference has offered participants the opportunity to learn from professional peers and re-strategize.
He craved a regulatory body for the medical laboratory practice compared to the Allied Health Profession Council as it exists in the country and called for the reshaping of structures at the level of the Ministry.
Mr William Addo Mills-Pappoe, Head of the Clinical Laboratory Unit, Ghana Health Service
(GHS) said several resolutions have been made and lessons learnt from the conference and duty-bearers must take necessary steps to implement them appropriately for quality healthcare delivery.
Source: Ghana News Agency