Pathway to International Clinical Laboratory Accreditation: Namibia's Story

Abstract

As a German colony under South African occupation until winning independence in 1990, Namibia supports a population of 2.17 million people. The country is progressive and quickly established goals to improve the quality of life and economics for its citizens, and the strategy included a national priority for providing quality health care for all citizens. To achieve this goal, the National Institute of Pathology (NIP) was formed to provide support and resources to the government laboratory system. Laboratory accreditation through the WHO-Afro system was selected as the standard, and baseline assessments were performed to identify strengths and gaps within all tiers of the laboratory network. Under the PEPFAR-funded program administrated by the CDC, ASCP was requested to assist NIP in developing workshops to improve and increase laboratory capacity and meet specific gaps in their laboratory testing quality, staff competency, biosafety, and management skills and processes. Private laboratories were also invited to attend workshops and improve their labs as well as NIP sponsored labs. International laboratory capacity-building projects were begun, and the tiers and infrastructure of the national laboratory system were defined in Namibia. Laboratory strengthening improvement goals such as external and internal quality assurance and basic laboratory operations training programs were designed to address gaps and target international accreditation standards. Tools to measure improvements were identified that can be used to assess and track achievements, and the next steps were outlined for the NIP in Namibia to implement its goals and sustain their improvements.