Local diagnostics kits for Africa being developed in Ghana

Abstract

In our view, building local capacity in diagnostics could help Africa to tackle diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. We have set up a unit to design and develop diagnostic kits at the University of Ghana’s West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP).

A robust service to monitor public health and deliver treatment depends on reliable early diagnosis of medical conditions. Africa is generally very limited in its development and deployment of diagnostics systems, however, so these are mostly brought in at high cost from the developed world. Furthermore, the stability and usability of such sensing systems are hampered by poor storage conditions and inadequately trained personnel.

Using local platforms such as ours for developing diagnostic sensors and instrumentation will help to meet the continent’s growing demand for them. The hope is that ill health will no longer impede the economic prospects of the continent.