Klosad gets international certification

Sunday Mail Reporter

KLOSAD Clinical Diagnostics Laboratory, which is one of the companies that offers Covid-19 testing services, has received a five-star Covid-19 Laboratory Testing Certification Programme (COLTeP) from the African Society for Laboratory Medicines (ASLM).

According to ASLM, the certification programme provides a “regionally acceptable framework for objective evidence of competency of laboratories to provide quality-assured Covid-19 testing results for travellers”. ASLM is an independent, international non-profit organisation endorsed by the African Union (AU) and supported by multiple African ministers of health.

Its mandate is to coordinate relevant stakeholders at local, national and international level to improve access to world-class diagnostic services.

ASLM’s anti-microbial resistance programmes manager Mr Edwin Shumba said Klosad was amongst a few local laboratories that attained the five-star recognition.

He said a laboratory has to score at least 90 percent on the COLTeP checklist following an assessment conducted by ASLM and Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) certified auditors.

“Klosad has demonstrated that they are implementing a robust quality management system (QMS) that includes participation in external quality assessment schemes, using competent personnel, validated and verified equipment, use of internal quality controls, having documents and implementing a safety programme. Laboratories that attain five-star rating are certified and qualify for enrolment onto the Africa Union Trusted Travel platform,” he said.

Former Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo, who is the owner of Klosad, said it was a worthy recognition.

“This a big achievement. We cleaned our mess by removing a few bad apples who were working unprofessionally and tainting the image of the laboratory,” he said, adding that all staff at Klosad were strictly vetted for their adequate qualifications and fully registered under the Health Professions Act. In January this year, some Klosad staff members were arrested for issuing fake certificates that carried negative Covid-19 results.