Malawi

PO’s initial visit to Malawi was in November 2010. Tim Amukele and Jack Ladenson visited the hospital facilities and individuals involved in pathology and clinical laboratory services at the following locations: Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) and the University of Malawi College of Medicine in Blantyre; Mzuzu Central Hospital, the Biomedical Sciences Program at Mzuzu University, and Edwedemi Hospital Laboratory in Mzuzu; and Kamuza Central Hospital and the Community Health Sciences Unit in Lilongwe.

PO programs at the QECH laboratories were focused in two areas: establishing a quality assurance (QA) program and helping to set up a laboratory information system. Specific to the QA program was provision of external quality assurance (EQA) material and feedback on performance. The LIS system, donated by CompProMed and implemented by Robert Tuggey, interfaced with the hematology chemistry analyzers. Both the EQA program and LIS system are still in use at QECH laboratories today.