The number of accredited labs in Africa may rise. Credit: AM. SOC. CLIN. PATHOL.

An accreditation system that aims to raise the standard of disease diagnosis in African medical laboratories was launched on 27 July in Kigali, Rwanda.

The process, developed by the World Health Organization in collaboration with the US government, will mark African pathology labs on an incremental scale, upping the rating as their quality improves rather than using the 'pass or fail' system of many developed countries. The scheme was launched alongside a training programme for African lab workers.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, which will implement the step-by-step system, estimates that it could see 60 currently unaccredited African laboratories attain ratings verging on the standard of an average lab in the developed world over the next two years.