• To counter disease outbreaks, Africa CDC is leading experts in co-developing a continental framework for decentralizing laboratory services to enhance early warning surveillance and timely confirmation of diseases.
  • Initiative also includes training personnel, establishing a national sample transport system, and conducting lab mapping to improve surveillance.
  • Experts note that laboratory detection is the first line of defense in identifying potential outbreaks.

A new push is underway to decentralize disease diagnostics through the deployment of modern laboratory services across Africa as part of a wide plan to speed up the continent’s response to disease outbreaks.

According to Africa CDC, under the Continental Guidance for the Decentralization of Laboratory Services, health authorities will have access to a practical, action-oriented tool to help Member States design national diagnostic strategies that bring testing closer to communities and improve outbreak detection and response.

“Member States cannot respond effectively to outbreaks if diagnostic capacity is limited to national reference laboratories. Detection capabilities must be decentralized to sub-national levels and below to enhance early warning surveillance and timely confirmation of disease threats,” said Dr. Yenew Kebede Tebeje, Acting Director, Centre for Laboratory Diagnostics and Systems, Africa CDC.

He added, “Decentralized laboratory services are also essential for achieving Universal Health Coverage,” during a public health leaders’ conference that brought together 10 African countries in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Public health experts plan to combat disease outbreaks

The forum was organized by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Cameroon, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the European Union.

Health experts attending the workshop were drawn from government national laboratory directors, and public health experts from across the continent.

Dr. Kakambi Christelle, a senior official from Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health, shared the country’s approach to decentralizing diagnostics for epidemic-prone diseases. This includes strengthening regional laboratories, training personnel, establishing a national sample transport system, and conducting lab mapping to improve surveillance.

“Laboratory detection is the first line of defense in identifying potential outbreaks. Decentralizing labs widens the net, increasing our chances of catching the culprit pathogen early and guiding timely public health action,” said Rachel Achilla, WHO AFRO representative.

Delegations from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) demonstrated how Mpox diagnostic capacity was expanded from just two laboratories to 56 in Burundi and 27 in DRC—within a single year—dramatically improving detection and case management.

“One of the key lessons learned from recent epidemics in Africa is the strategic value of decentralizing diagnostics to overcome sample transport delays and accelerate response,” noted Professor Pembe Issamou Mayengue, researcher at the National Public Health Laboratory, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.

However, participants acknowledged that decentralization is not without challenges. While it brings diagnostics closer to communities, it also multiplies the burden on fragile health systems—particularly where data integration, trained personnel, equipment maintenance, supply chain management, electricity, and internet access remain unresolved.

“National Public Health Laboratories serve as the backbone of laboratory services decentralization by setting standards, guiding policy, ensuring quality, and mentoring peripheral laboratories. Their leadership is critical to building a resilient, responsive system,” emphasized Gifty Boateng, a public health researcher and academic from Ghana.

The participants co-developed a practical, adaptive guideline rooted in African realities and global good practices. The document offers strategic orientations to help countries implement decentralization in ways that ensure ownership, institutional integration, and sustainability.

Laboratory systems

“If we move from two laboratories with chronic issues in sample collection, data flow, infrastructure weakness, and supply chain bottlenecks, decentralizing laboratories means multiplying these challenges in proportion to the expansion,” warned Yao Selom, Unit Lead for Laboratory Systems and Networks at Africa CDC. “Our presence here is essential to guide, alert, and support Member States in identifying what to consider, how to prepare, and how to move forward.”

This initiative is part of the Partnership to Accelerate Mpox and Other Outbreaks Testing and Sequencing in Africa (PAMTA) program, launched by Africa CDC and ASLM, and co-funded by the European Union through the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), and administered by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). It contributes to a broader continental effort to strengthen diagnostics, build technical capacity, and improve readiness for epidemic threats across Africa.

Read also: Africa CDC pledges 10 million Mpox vaccine doses by 2025