LabNetLead Course Training Underway for Nigeria!

The LabCoP project rolled out its Laboratory Network Leadership (LabNetLead) course for Nigeria’s National Laboratory Technical Working Group (TWG) from 4-8 March 2024. The LabNetLead course introduces essential concepts and activities to design, optimise, lead and manage functional, high-quality national laboratory networks through five training sessions or activities. The course is part of ASLM’s LabCoP programme, which focuses on human health laboratory network leadership and management.

Nigeria’s National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory Director, Mr Elom Emeka, and LabCoP Project Manager, Mr Francis Ocen, officially opened the training. Twenty TWG members responsible for managing both the public and private sector laboratory network in Nigeria attended the training. Mr Elom thanked ASLM for accepting and fast tracking their request for this course and encouraged attendees to diligently participate to improve both their individual and the national capacity to lead and manage Nigeria’s tiered laboratory network. Mr Ocen thanked the Nigeria Ministry of Health for the productive collaboration in multiple areas between the country and ASLM, further noting that the course would bring additional perspectives and tools to what participants may already know or are currently using.

On 8 March, Dr Elochukwu Adibo, President of the Guild of Private Medical Laboratory Directors (GMLD) Nigeria, expressed immense gratitude to both Nigeria’s Ministry of Health and ASLM for extending the invitation to GMLD and availing their leadership an opportunity to attend the course. He acknowledged the need to align the structuring of private and public sector laboratories through a unified, well managed, tiered network. He further noted that the tools covered in the sessions will go a long way towards helping their members to lead and manage private sector laboratories better and improve their continued contribution to individual patient management, as well as public and global health responses.

This meeting was the first of two in-person LabNetLead trainings that covered the structuring, governance, and tools used in managing a national tiered lab network. The second face-to-face training will be delivered during the first week of June 2024.

The other three trainings are run as either individual or group assignments.