global health
APHL Strengthens Laboratory Leadership
in Ethiopia
by Kim Lewis, MSc, APHL Consultant; Sally Liska, DrPH, APHL Consultant; Maureen Sullivan, MPH, APHL
Consultant; and Sherrie Staley, MPH, manager, Global Health
basic curriculum can be supplemented
with additional, optional modules
on Ethics, Project Management,
Quality Management Systems, and
Time and Change Management.
Laboratories must constantly adapt to
deliver optimal services as new needs
emerge. It is essential for managers
working in this dynamic environment
to have strong managerial skills and
knowledge of the latest methods and
best practices. In developing countries, it
is common for laboratory professionals
to enter management positions without
formal training in management,
and such skills may be difficult to
cultivate due to distance, technology
issues and competing priorities.
In 2005, APHL developed an interactive,
one-week workshop for laboratory
managers and supervisors, the
“Foundation of Laboratory Leadership
and Management” (FLLM). The curriculum
covered topics essential to effective
laboratory management: Planning,
Measurement and Evaluation; Manager
and Leader Roles and Responsibilities;
Communication; Human Resources;
Team Management; Finance; Problem
Solving and Conflict Resolution. This
The FLLM workshop was presented most
recently in May 2017 in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. The core curriculum was
supplemented with a new Global Health
Security (GHS) Curriculum. The GHS
curriculum modules address key areas
required by the laboratory services to
support Ministries of Health in obtaining
compliance with the International
Health Regulations (WHO 2005), the One
Health Concept (WHO), and the Global
Health Security priority initiatives.
The modules include the following:
Biosafety/Biosecurity, Integrated Disease
Surveillance (IDSR), Risk Management
and Incident/Emergency Response.
Thirty-four senior laboratory personnel
from across Ethiopia attended the
workshop, which was co-sponsored
by APHL, the Ethiopian Public Health
Faculty, including APHL staff Sherrie Staley and APHL consultants Sally Liska and Kim Lewis, and participants that attended the
FLMGHS Pilot in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in May 2017
PublicHealthLabs
@APHL
APHL.org
Institute and the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
Participants joined in exercises designed
to empower them to become more
effective managers and to support
GHS activities at their laboratories.
Scores from pre- and post-workshop
testing showed a signficant improvement
of 23%, with a pre-workshop average of
58% and a post-workshop average of 81%.
In addition, each participant selected
three workshop activities to implement
at her/his laboratory. This has led to over
99 new management activities at federal
and regional laboratories in Ethiopia in
the six weeks following the workshop.
Workshop faculty included APHL
members and consultants Kim Lewis,
Sally Liska and Maureen Sullivan,
and pre-wo rkshop assistance from
Chris Mangal, director of Public Health
Preparedness and Response at APHL. ■
Students conducting SWOT analysis during the FLMGHS pilot
in Addis Ababa
Summer 2017 LAB MATTERS
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