Experts from Eastern and Southern Africa begin a five-week assessment to determine whether Ethiopia’s laboratory can provide specialised medicine-testing services across the region.

Countries across Eastern and Southern Africa could soon have access to specialised medicine-testing services through a regional laboratory in Ethiopia, as experts begin a five-week assessment to determine whether the facility meets the standards required to serve the wider region.

The exercise, led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), began in Addis Ababa on Monday, bringing together laboratory and medicines regulatory experts to assess the capacity of Ethiopia’s Food and Drug Authority (EFDA) Quality Control Laboratory to test medicines and other health products.

The assessment seeks to establish whether the facility can provide reliable testing services to neighbouring countries and support regulatory decisions on the quality and safety of medical products.