The theme for this year was “Quality Management in Medical Biology Laboratories in Togo”. The event brought together 159 participants, including Dr. K. Sika Dogbe, Director of Health and Representative of the Health Ministry, Prof. Tchin Darré, Dean of the Health Sciences Faculty, Prof. Ameyo Dorkenoo, Head of the Laboratories Division, Prof. Maléwé Kolou, Chair of the JTBM Organizing Committee, and Mr. Ewèzima Tegnama, Technical Advisor and Representative of the Ministry for Higher Education and Research.

Gilles Adjane Koura, the Mérieux Foundation’s Deputy Technical Advisor for West Africa, was invited to address the opening session. His presentation on the challenges and strategies involved in setting up and maintaining a quality management program in a context of limited resources pointed out that this type of context must not be an obstacle to the development of quality management. It also underlined the importance of a culture of quality for the well-being of everyone involved and for the sustainable development of any organization. Finally, he showed how a suitable program based on appropriate strategies can overcome these challenges and achieve the desired results.

The JTBM were also an opportunity to award the prizes for Best Laboratory Worker, Best Oral Presentation and Best Poster, at the ceremony recognizing mentored laboratories and the Masters of Medical Biology in Togo, extending the recognition and appreciation of the exceptional work done in medical biology.

These third Togo Medical Biology Days, combined with the Togo Clinical Biology Society’s fifth Scientific Days, received financial support from the RESAOLAB project conducted by the Mérieux Foundation, which is a technical and financial partner of the Ministry for Heath and Public Hygiene. 

The medical biology days organized by the Republic of Togo and the Togo Clinical Biology Society offer teaching and research staff and laboratory managers a space for discussion and reflection. The goal is to adopt strategies to provide the best possible laboratory services in Togo. Health practitioners, including doctors, laboratory technicians and engineers, veterinarians, and pharmacists, come together to share experiences on themes such as quality management, risk and disaster management, and non-communicable diseases.

Medical biology plays a crucial role in diagnosing, preventing, and treating diseases, underlining the importance of developing new strategies to guarantee high-quality care for the whole population.

About RESAOLAB

A system of medical biology laboratories providing high-quality services is an essential requirement for improving population health. The West African Network of Biomedical Analysis Laboratories (RESAOLAB) is the first regional program in West Africa to provide a response to this public health concern. Deployed since 2009 alongside West African healthcare stakeholders, it takes into consideration all factors affecting the laboratories’ governance and performance in order to strengthen the quality of medical biology services and laboratory systems in the region.

With support from the Agence française de Développement (AFD), RESAOLAB has enabled the deployment of major programs for ongoing training activities, the construction and provision of equipment for training and quality assurance laboratories, and the introduction of epidemiological surveillance systems.