An appraisal to mark the project’s completion was carried out to measure improvements in the quality of diagnostic services in the medical analysis laboratory at the provincial hospital in Bolikhamxay. The results of the audit, conducted using the WHO’s Laboratory Assessment Tool, show an overall increase in quality of more than 30% and an increase in biosafety of more than 40%. This was all achieved while ensuring an effective response to Covid-19 and other dengue epidemics that have affected the Bolikhamxay region.

Since it was launched in 2018, the BoliLab project, led by the Mérieux Foundation, has provided technical support for provincial laboratories in Bolikhamxay to supply populations with better diagnostic services. The project has also supported district laboratories in the province of Bolikhamxay and the National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology (NCLE) in Laos in its role as leader of the national laboratory network.

The BoliLab project came about as a result of the construction of the new provincial hospital in Bolikhamxay, which was built with the financial support of LuxDev and opened in July 2018. In close cooperation with the provincial department of Health and NLCE, the Mérieux Foundation supported the launch of the medical analysis laboratory in the hospital by providing staff training and introducing new analysis techniques. The Foundation continued to provide technical support on a daily basis, through mentoring schemes and training programs, helping the laboratory to be integrated as part of the national network of laboratories in Laos.