The West African Health Organisation, WAHO, has handed over laboratory equipment worth more than 1.5 million euros to Guinea-Bissau to strengthen disease detection and public health surveillance.
The equipment, funded by Germany through KfW Development Bank, is expected to significantly improve the country’s capacity to diagnose diseases and respond to public health emergencies.
The handover took place at Guinea-Bissau’s National Public Health Laboratory, where WAHO Director General, Dr Melchior Athanase Joël C. Aïssi, formally presented the equipment to the Minister of Public Health, Commodore Dr Quinhin Nantote.
The support forms part of the second phase of the PROALAB project, which seeks to strengthen epidemiological services and health systems across the ECOWAS region.
The €1,511,499.77 investment includes PCR and immunological testing equipment, general laboratory equipment, reagents, consumables and other essential laboratory materials.
WAHO says the intervention will boost the technical and operational capacity of Guinea-Bissau’s National Public Health Laboratory to detect and confirm diseases, strengthen surveillance and respond more effectively to outbreaks and other health threats.
The initiative is being implemented in five ECOWAS countries — Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and The Gambia — as part of efforts to build stronger regional laboratory and disease surveillance systems.
The ultimate goal is to ensure that countries are better equipped to detect public health threats early and mount a coordinated response before outbreaks escalate.
By Peter Quao Adattor
