Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng has commissioned the national Heme path flow cytometry Laboratory for cancer diagnosis and Hepatitis B viral load lab at Uganda national health laboratories services (UNHLS), Nakawa.
Alluding to UNHLS, they seek to build effective and sustainable National Laboratories quality management systems to be able to provide results of the highest quality and putting up over 25 facilities accredited to ISO 15189 by 2020 and 100 labs certified to international standards.
Currently Uganda has established a number of National Reference laboratories such as National Tuberculosis reference Lab, National Microbiology ref Lab, viral load ref Lab, National Sickle cell ref Lab and most of them have attained international accreditation.
The minister said, Heme Path Flow Cytometry Lab will play critical roles and improve on the diagnosis of particular blood cancers especially lymphomas and Leukemia.
She said three of Uganda’s Laboratories in Kiryandongo General Hospital, Kayunga General Hospital and St. Raphael of St. Francis Nsambya Hospital have received International accreditation.
“The Government is committed in the fight against viral Hepatitis and the commissioning of the Hepatitis B viral load lab is part of the demonstration of this commitment to advance the fight against it,” she noted.
According to permanent secretary of ministry of health Dr. Diana Atwine, the launch of the National Heme Path Flow Cytometry reference lab for cancer diagnosis is a major step towards improving areas of diagnosis. One can’t proceed with treatment without accurate diagnosis.
She said ref Lab for Cancer diagnosis and the Hepatitis B viral load lab will not only solve availability issues but also accessibility, which have been limiting early detection efforts.
“These very high-level technologies will be critical in helping our doctors to plan the most appropriate course of treatment as well as monitoring effectiveness,” she said.