Assessment of the Public Health Laboratory Capacity - Sierra Leone, 2021

Public health laboratories (PHLs) are critical for effectively identifying, detecting, preventing, and responding to emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Following the 2014 Ebola outbreak, Sierra Leone implemented a national laboratory strategic plan (2015-2020) aimed at creating, strengthening, and maintaining laboratory capacities for detecting, assessing, notifying, and reporting incidents, with a requirement to review PHL capabilities every five years.

This study assessed the comprehensive capacity and personnel status of PHLs in Sierra Leone using a standardized assessment tool following the implementation of the 2015 National Laboratory Strategic Plan. Among 11 indicators evaluated, laboratory infrastructure and equipment, data and information management, experimental technical training, and laboratory performance received low scores. The assessment revealed critical personnel gaps, including limited staff with extensive work experience and advanced education. Additionally, laboratory staff demonstrated limited capabilities in specialized areas such as gene library creation, primer design, sequencing, surveillance, and field epidemiology and laboratory-related training.

Continued investment and capacity building are essential for PHLs to deliver high-quality testing services and effectively support public health functions. The identified gaps across various indicators must be systematically addressed to strengthen PHL capacity in Sierra Leone.