Strenthening Laboratory Management Towards Accreditation (SLMTA)
Medical laboratories have always played an essential role in determining clinical decisions and
providing clinicians with information that assists in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and
management of diseases in the developed world. Presently, laboratory infrastructure and test quality
for all types of clinical laboratories remain in nascent stages in most countries in Africa.
Consequently, there is an urgent need to strengthen laboratory systems and services. The
establishment of a process by which laboratories can achieve accreditation at international standards
is an invaluable tool for countries to improve the quality of laboratory services.
In accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO)’s core functions of setting standards and
building institutional capacity, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Cameroon, in
collaboration with Global Health Systems Solutions (GHSS), the African Society for Laboratory Medicine
(ASLM), and Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Health, embarked on the Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement
Process Towards Accreditation (SLIPTA) in laboratories in Cameroon.
Strengthening Laboratory
Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA) is a toolkit used to implement SLIPTA. It is a mentorship and
training program that seeks to build the capacities of laboratory personnel and change work cultures,
while meeting the requirements of ISO 15189:2012 international standard.
Under a cooperative agreement (CoAg) with CDC, GHSS, in her capacity as CDC’s laboratory implementing
partner oversees and implements SLMTA in public and private health institutions. This program is now
rolled out to 4 regions in Cameroon, covering 14 public and private laboratories.
These include the following:
- Bamenda Regional Hospital Laboratory
- Laquantini Hospital Laboratory, Douala
- Buea Regional Hospital Laboratory
- Limbe regional hospital laboratory
- Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaoundé
- Litto Laboratory, Douala
- Chantal Biya International Reference Centre laboratory, Yaoundé
- Yaoundé Central Hospital Laboratory
- Douala General Hospital Laboratory
- Yaoundé General Hospital Laboratory
- National Early Infant Diagnosis Reference Laboratory , Mutengene
- Yaoundé University Teaching hospital Laboratory
- Laboratoire d’Analyse Médicale du Centre (LAMC)
- Yaoundé Gynaeco-Obstetric and pediatric Hospital Laboratory, Ngousso
