RESAOLAB is an advocacy tool for strengthening laboratory systems
Nearly 30 participants, including the RESAOLAB project’s main players and partners, came together for the international steering committee meeting on the first day. This meeting takes place annually and enables project participants to share the progress they have made in strengthening their country’s laboratory systems.
This year, the meeting was attended by a representative of Togo’s health and hygiene ministry, the pharmacy, medicine, and laboratories director, and coordinators, project leaders, and managers from the RESAOLAB member countries, as well as representatives of the French Development Agency and the Mérieux Foundation.
Dr. Dalkoi Lamboni, the pharmacy, medicine, and laboratories director, began the discussion. He pointed out that the third phase of RESAOLAB has made remarkable progress, particularly in the governance of laboratory systems, training laboratory staff, improving the quality of analyses, and laboratory-based surveillance.
With the project entering its final year, the international steering committee meeting was an opportunity for the partners to review the activities carried out in 2024. Participants were able to look back on the deployment of a regional program of external quality assessment presented by Dr. Aicha Marceline Sarr of the Mérieux Foundation, as well as activities to supervise laboratory equipment maintenance, such as the pilot mission conducted in Benin by Mr. Marcelin Assongba, a specialist in laboratory equipment maintenance.
Prof. Philippe Vanhems, director of public health programs at the Mérieux Foundation, acknowledged that the international steering committee meeting was a pivotal moment for the project’s management, planning, and prospects. He argued that RESAOLAB’s success depends on cooperation between the partners despite their difficult contexts, recalling that RESAOLAB is an advocacy tool for strengthening laboratory systems. The network’s partnerships are long-term and represent an opportunity for complementary approaches.
The partners presented the results of their activities through the lens of their shared indicators and worked together to identify priority actions for 2025 to ensure the final year’s goals are achieved. AFD representative Dr. François Esmyot praised the work carried out and the strength of the network, which has enabled member countries to make progress in strengthening medical biology.
The steering committee meeting was followed by two days of workshops for the RESAOLAB members, aiming to continue consolidating the network’s structure and action plan.
The workshops proved to be an opportunity to share best practices and experience, allowing members of the seven countries to look to the future.