The Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) successfully commissioned the CIDRZ Central Laboratory in Ndola on the 26^th of August 2022. The Ndola Central Laboratory will help with accurate clinical and laboratory test results for clients on the Copperbelt province.

Speaking during the commissioning, Copperbelt Minister Honourable Elisha Matambo said the coming of CIDRZ Laboratory to the Copperbelt province will have a positive impact and help to reduce the time required for patients to receive their test results, diagnosis, and needed treatment.

The minister noted that the impact of the CIDRZ Laboratory will extend beyond the Copperbelt and benefit the people in neighbouring districts and provinces. He added that the new Ndola CIDRZ Laboratory supports the government’s effort to improve quality health delivery in the province and will relieve the burden experienced in government health facilities.

CIDRZ Chief Executive Officer Dr Izukanji Sikazwe explained during the ceremony that the CIDRZ Laboratory prides itself on an unwavering focus on high quality results offered to its clients. She said the laboratory has a robust quality management system aimed at helping the laboratory to obtain accreditation based on IOS 15189 standard.

“I am proud to highlight to you that CIDRZ is the first laboratory in the country to get the accreditation offered by the SADC region accreditation authority,” Dr Sikazwe said.

Dr. Sikazwe said the center is the basis of future research for CIDRZ on the Copperbelt. She added that in the quest to help the government of Zambia with good public health service the laboratory fits the government’s guidelines and policies of good health as it will helps bring accreditation to government health facilities.

The new Ndola CIDRZ Laboratory branch is part of an ongoing expansion program under the main CIDRZ Central Laboratory to better support laboratory systems in the country. Over the past five years CIDRZ Laboratory has been supporting SADCAS laboratory accreditation efforts in sixteen (16) Ministry of Health facilities, five (5) of which are in the Copperbelt Province, namely;

Nchanga North General Hospital,

Kitwe Teaching Hospital,

Ndola Teaching Hospital,

Arthur Davison Children Hospital, and

Tropical Disease Research Centre (TDRC).

Dr Sikazwe said these laboratories supported through QMS mentoring, technical support, training, audits, laboratory supplies, equipment calibration, and accreditation fees with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via CIDRZ Laboratory Innovation For Excellence (LiFE) project.

She further added under its capacity development program, CIDRZ has sponsored six (6) laboratory scientists to continue their education of which two (2) have completed training in Laboratory Science.

In addition to this work, CIDRZ, supported by the UK Government through the Fleming Fund project, has also built capacity in twelve (12) laboratories , seven (7) human health hospital laboratories under the Ministry of Health, and five (5) animal health laboratories under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.

Under the five animal health laboratories the CIDRZ Laboratory has supported a reference laboratory and built its capacity to further conduct testing for microbiology whereas, under the human health laboratories, CIDRZ has improved the capacity of the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) microbiology laboratory as a reference laboratory.

“This has improved the quality and quantity of results leading to an improved collection of the data that is currently being generated for the national Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) surveillance championed by the Ministry of Health with our unreserved support” added Dr Sikazwe.