Initiatives in laboratory medicine in developing countries and the role of RCPath

The increasing burden of infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria and TB coupled with changing standards and regulatory requirements mean that many laboratory services in the world’s poorest countries are struggling to provide even a basic service. Chronic neglect has led to crippling staff shortages, inadequate funding, poor quality reagents and unreliable equipment. This situation is changing as international policy makers and funding agencies begin to recognise the critical role that laboratory services play in underpinning all aspects of healthcare. Many laboratory clinicians and scientists from the UK have experience of working and living in developing countries and have contributed to supporting their laboratory services. These efforts have generally not been widely disseminated, and there is no mechanism for learning lessons, for synergising or for avoiding duplication. Several recent government strategies urge UK institutions to increase their inputs to healthcare in poorer countries and there are several laboratory medicine initiatives (viz: the session on Pathology in the Developing World) that are putting this into practice.

The RC Path is committed to playing a pivotal role in coordinating and expanding role of UK expertise in developing laboratory medicine in low income countries.