New State of the Art Southern Nationalities, Nations and Peoples Region Regional Laboratory in Hawassa City

New State of the Art Southern Nationalities, Nations and Peoples Region Regional Laboratory in Hawassa City

Fig 1: His Excellency President Shiferaw Shegute Right top corner: Rendering of the SNNPR Regional laboratory SNNPR President H.E Shiferaw Shegute, Ethiopian Minister of Health, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Ato Kare Chawicha Regional Health Bureau Head and Country Director of the United States’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dr. Tom Kenyon, and invited guests broke ground on the construction of a new SNNPR Regional Laboratory in the city of Hawassa in SNNPR on June 30, 2011 within walking distance from the Hawassa Regional Referral Hospital The New SNNPR Regional Laboratory will augment the current Hawassa Regional Laboratory, which is one of the six regional labs in the country to be upgraded to support DNA PCR and TB culture, DST and Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory supporting four sub-regional laboratories situated in Hossana, Arbaminch, Mizan and Jinka. The New Regional Laboratory will be a state of the art comprehensive referral facility designed in accordance with international building codes and best practices in construction. PEPFAR/CDC-Ethiopia has committed 2.5 million USD for a1800sqm facility – through the US Department of State – for construction of the complex. The project is expected to be completed by December 2012. The regional lab will serve more than 15 million people in the region as well as neighboring and less developed regions. When completed, with technical assistance from EHNRI, JHU-TSEHAI and CDC-E, the laboratory will perform all comprehensive laboratory activities inclusive but not limited to Immunohematology, and Clinical Chemistry, Bacteriology, and HIV, DNA and RNA PCR testing and TB culture rooms.  Fig 2: Left to right: Dr. Thomas Kenyon, CDC Country Director, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, FDRE Minister of Health, Dr. Solomon Zewdu, JHU-TSEHAI Country Director, (Protocol personnel), H.E. Ato Shiferaw Shegute, SNNPR President and ATo Kare Chawicha SNNPR RHB head Laboratory professionals will be trained on laboratory Management, HIV, TB, Malaria, and ART monitoring testing and quality management system. The Regional Laboratory will participate in EQA program for CD4, hematology, chemistry, DNA PCR, AFB /Malaria microscopy and HIV rapid testing. Referral laboratory is expected to play a significant role in Human resources training and provides TB, malaria and HIV EQA services to the entire region of 22 hospitals and more than 80 health center laboratories. WHO- AFRO stepwise accreditation program will be sought out. Source:http://www.jhutsehai.org/Newspage11.aspx