ASLM CEO to Step Down after 4 Successful Years

MEDIA CONTACT:
Corey White (ASLM Senior Communications Officer), Email

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (9 April 2015) – The African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM), a pan-African professional body working to raise laboratory services in Africa to world-class standards, announces that its CEO, Dr. Tsehaynesh Messele, is due to step down from her position at the end of April 2015 after four highly successful years at the helm. She will remain on the Board of Directors and continue to contribute to the growth of ASLM.

Tsehaynesh_Messele — *Dr. Tsehaynesh Messele*

After an extensive global search, Dr. Messele joined the start-up organisation as its first Chief Executive Officer in 2011 and immediately set about building a rapidly-growing organisation – transforming it from an ambitious idea decades in the making to a respected institution contributing to strengthened healthcare in Africa.

“I have enjoyed working to build resilient laboratory systems in Africa. ASLM is now in a position of strength, relevance, and influence and is well-placed to move to the next level of success and impact. The extraordinary warmth and commitment of my colleagues and partners have inspired me these past four years during which we have taken great strides towards delivering the mission of ASLM,” said Dr. Messele.

Dr. Trevor Peter, chair of the ASLM Board of Directors, paid tribute to Dr. Messele’s achievements: “Tsehaynesh has been an inspiring leader. She has successfully led ASLM in advancing the medical and laboratory profession in Africa. She has promoted the highest standards of performance, ethics, and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of the people on this continent. I cannot thank Tsehaynesh enough for her tremendous and invaluable contribution to the organisation.”

ASLM has made impressive achievements since its launch four years ago under the stewardship of Dr. Messele. Its ASLM2020 strategic vision continues to ensure the existence of healthy communities through long-term, sustainable activities across the continent. Many notable achievements mark her tenure, and include:

Fighting the Ebola outbreak on-the-ground with direct technical support to governments and local laboratories
Partnering with UNAIDS to launch the Diagnostics Access Initiative to achieve new global HIV treatment targets
Establishing the landmark network of pan-African public health laboratories to critically strengthen diagnostic capacity and disease surveillance across Africa
Launching a historic Ministerial Call to Action for Laboratory Strengthening – an unprecedented show of political support for laboratory medicine in Africa
Partnering with the African Union-NEPAD to push for harmonised regulations to improve access to safe and affordable medical devices and diagnostics in Africa
Launching the peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal: African Journal of Laboratory Medicine
Supporting laboratories across 22 African countries in their push towards international accreditation
Identifying gaps in workforce development strategies through a unique analysis of national health policies in 39 countries
Building an ASLM membership network spanning 80 countries

ASLM has initiated a global search to select the organisation’s next CEO. The ASLM management team will lead the organisation until the new CEO takes office. With a strong foundation in place under Dr. Messele’s leadership, ASLM will now actively expand its programmes towards the following ASLM2020 strategic goals:

Building Africa’s laboratory medicine workforce to meet growing health priorities
Strengthening the quality of laboratories across the continent
Ensuring safe medical diagnostic products in Africa
Building laboratory networks for better disease detection and access to testing services

For more information about ASLM, please visit www.ASLM.org.

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ASLM is an independent, pan-African professional body that coordinates, galvanises and mobilises relevant stakeholders – local, national and international – so that together, we improve local access to world-class laboratory services and ensure healthy African communities now and for the long-term.