Who We Are - African Society for Laboratory Medicine

The African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) is an independent, international, not-for-profit organisation founded in March 2011 in Addis Ababa that coordinates, galvanises and mobilises relevant stakeholders at the local, national, and international levels to improve local access to world-class diagnostic services and ensure healthy African communities now and for the long-term. ASLM is the first pan-African society for laboratory professionals, endorsed by the African Union (AU) and supported by multiple African Ministers of Health through its Ministerial Call for Action.

ASLM Vision and Mission

Vision statement: A healthier Africa through access to quality laboratory services for all.
Mission Statement: To improve clinical and public health outcomes in Africa by enhancing professional laboratory practice, science and networks.

ASLM Strategic Pillars

Based on the partnership and network centred approach, ASLM works on five functional pillars

Laboratory Networks: Strengthen laboratory networks and systems to support the delivery of clinical and public health functions.
Laboratory Workforce: Strengthen the laboratory workforce in Africa.
Quality of Laboratory Services: Improve the quality of laboratory services towards accreditation based on national, regional and international standards.
Regulatory Systems: Promote and support harmonised national and regional regulatory systems for diagnostic products, technologies and services.
Communication & Knowledge Management: Strengthen data collection, analysis and sharing capacity, communication platforms and advocacy to promote the laboratory profession and contribute to evidence-based laboratory medicine in Africa.

ASLM serves the community of laboratory professionals, as well as networks of public health laboratories delivering clinical and public health functions in Africa. ASLM serves the global health agenda for the laboratory sector in Africa by supporting the efforts of Africa CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) and Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.

The primary goal of ASLM is to promote the value of all medical laboratories and laboratory networks in Africa within all sectors including; Ministries of Heath, National Public Health Institutes, research laboratories, universities and other tertiary institutions, private medical laboratory sector, and National Laboratory Professional Associations as an essential resource to improve the overall health status of Africa. ASLM’s expertise includes, support for the development of specialised diagnostic technology, international accreditations, and quality assurance, a neutral convener of international conferences on critical issues, and fostering development of laboratory workforce programs to meet the growing needs of national laboratory systems.

ASLM strives to achieve its goals and objectives by coordinating and synergising partnerships, and advocating for and facilitating cost-effective interventions for laboratory strengthening. ASLM brings together programs, expertise, institutions and laboratory professionals to catalyse new initiatives and processes toward improved laboratory capacity on the continent.

Since its inception, ASLM has recognised the WHO Resolution AFR/RC58/R2 for strengthening public health laboratories in the African region and the 2008 Maputo Declaration on Strengthening of Laboratory Systems. ASLM has been working collaboratively with government, local and international organisations, implementing partners, and the private sector to advance medical laboratory capacity, in alignment with the priorities of WHO-AFRO, UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and large global health programs such as President Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Following the evolution of the global health landscape, ASLM is also aligning its strategy with that of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and with the goals of the Global Health Security Agenda in support of the implementation of core capacities relevant to the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005) and the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

We AreASLM

Ministerial Call for Action

In December 2012, at the inaugural international conference of ASLM in Cape Town, South Africa, ASLM achieved an important step on the path to accomplishing the ASLM2020 Strategic Vision goals. ASLM uniquely brought together African Ministers of Health to debate the challenges to laboratory workforce, regulation of diagnostics products and policies to govern accreditation. Together, the Ministers released an unprecedented Call for Action.

Learn More

ASLM Leadership Board of Directors

Mr Nqobile Ndlovu, MPH

CEO, ASLM

Nqobile Ndlovu serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the African Society for Laboratory Medicine, where he previously served as a Program Director and Interim Team Lead. He is a public health professional with over 10 years of experience managing regional laboratory strengthening programs in resource-limited areas. He has spearheaded laboratory quality improvement programs in Africa and the Caribbean region. Before joining ASLM, he served as Laboratory Project Coordinator for the African Field Epidemiology Network in Kampala, Uganda, where he implemented laboratory strengthening programmes. He also served as Assistant Field Coordinator for the Master’s in Public Health training programme at the University of Zimbabwe. He holds a Master’s degree in public health from the University of Zimbabwe.

Dr Pascale Ondoa, MD, PhD

Director of Science and New Initiatives, ASLM

Dr. Pascale Ondoa joined ASLM in December 2016 as its Director of Science and New Initiatives. Dr. Ondoa worked in academic research at the Institute of Tropical Medicine from 2002 to 2009. Between 2010 and 2016, she served as a senior scientist at the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD), University of Amsterdam. Her work covered the research and implementation aspects of various projects looking at HIV drug resistance in sub-Saharan Africa, exploring ways to mitigate barriers to laboratory test uptake, and addressing gaps in laboratory systems resources in African countries. Dr. Ondoa holds a medical degree (MD) from the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon, and a doctoral degree (PhD) in Biomedical Sciences (Virology) from the University of Antwerp. She brings her enthusiasm for international collaboration and her passion for building capacity on the African continent.

Ms Mah-Sere Keita, MPH

Director of Programs, ASLM

Ms. Mah-Sere Keita serves as the Director of Programs for ASLM. She is a public health professional with 15+ years of experience managing global health programs, particularly in the fields of public health workforce development and improving the diagnosis of infectious diseases in low-resource settings. She has previously held leadership positions at the Catholic Relief Services-Mali, American Society for Microbiology (ASM), and Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH). Ms. Keita holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with a focus on infectious disease epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in pre-medicine biology from Boston College.