Laboratory quality: BIOFORMATION and the Centre Pasteur du Cameroun

A fruitful partnership opens with capacity building

“Quality control management in the laboratory” is the theme of the first continuing training session given by the French institute BIOFORMATION to Cameroonian laboratory biologists and technicians.

Roger Mache Pekassa braved the inclement weather to follow the trainer’s explanations over the course of the two-day training course on laboratory quality modules. How to evaluate quality control in laboratories, how to take measurements in this field, how to validate results? These are just a few of the questions that no longer seem strange to this clinical biology engineer working at Yaoundé General Hospital.

Alongside Roger, 23 other biologists and laboratory technicians from the Centre Pasteur and reference hospitals including those in Yaoundé, Bertoua, Maroua, Garoua and Ebolowa took part in this capacity-building session run by the French institute Bioformation.

The first training course of its kind to be held in Cameroon by this renowned training organization. This capacity-building event took place in the conference room of the Centre Pasteur du Cameroun from September 23 to 24, 2024 in Yaoundé.

During the session, BIOFORMATION’s Mathieu Sorin focused on tips and evidence for determining quality in the laboratory. He used practical case studies and numerous exercises. Mathieu Sorin has 16 years’ experience as a consultant-trainer-auditor of quality management systems.

The rich session, which opened on September 23 in the presence of Dr Basile Yaba Dana, Director of Pharmacy, Medicines and Laboratories (DPML) at the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Mirdad Kazanji, Director General of the Centre Pasteur du Cameroun (CPC) and Dr Jean Baptiste Dufourcq, Health Counsellor at the French Embassy in Cameroon, closed with three highlights.

A word of thanks from Dr Larissa Tagne, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun’s focal point for the logistical organization of the event, to all those involved in facilitating the training. A word from the trainer, who praised the commitment and participative enthusiasm observed among the learners: “I’ve been doing this exercise for some time, and I’ve rarely met people so determined to learn”, he explained. And finally, the presentation of certificates to the participants.

This first experience should pave the way for collaboration between BIOFORMATION and the CPC, for the organization of other capacity-building sessions for healthcare personnel in Cameroon.