East Africa Public Health Laboratory Networking Project
The East Africa Public Health Laboratory Networking Project (EAPHLNP) is a World Bank-funded project that is being implemented by the EAC Partner States in collaboration with the East African Community Secretariat, the East Central and Southern Africa Health Community, the US Centres for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization.
The objective of the project is “to establish a network of efficient, high quality, accessible public health laboratories for the diagnosis and surveillance of Tuberculosis and other communicable diseases”.
The project supports 25 satellite laboratories in East Africa. The laboratories have been selected by the EAC Partner States based on their proximity to or location in border areas which are known to have large numbers of vulnerable populations, including migrants and / or refugees; high risk of disease outbreaks; and, are predominant with indigenous populations. The EAPHLNP aims to achieve the following:
- Enhanced access to diagnostic services for vulnerable groups to contain the spread of diseases in the border areas;
- Improved capacity to provide specialised diagnostic services and conducting drug resistance monitoring at regional level;
- Improved capacity for disease surveillance and emergency preparedness efforts through the availability of timely laboratory data to provide early warning of public health events; and
- Establishing a platform for conducting training and research.