ISO 15189:2012: What changes for African laboratories?

The International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) 15189 is the gold standard quality criteria for medical laboratories1 and accreditation is the recognition of a quality system in full compliance with this standard. Aware of the current challenges in the fields of public health and biomedical research, African medical laboratories may need to develop Quality Management Systems (QMS) compliant with the requirements of ISO 15189. Launched by the World HealthOrganization's Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) and partners, the Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation (SLIPTA) and Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA) programmes have emerged in recent years in Africa to support laboratories in the implementation of quality processes.