UNDP funds Mpilo hospital lab upgrade

Bulawayo, (New Ziana) – The upgrading of Mpilo Central Hospital National Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory, funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is progressing well withcontractors expecting to handover the completed facility to government in November.

The project is being implemented by government and development partners.

The laboratory is being upgraded to Bio Security Level III which is the highest level of accreditation by the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to UNDP civil engineers, the works are currently at 16percent. The new state of the art laboratory will comprise of a double storey to house the lab and training facilities for lab scientists.

Currently, tests are carried out in a containerised laboritory to pave way for the upgrading.

The new laboratory should not only protect staff who work inside from the infections, but also visitors.

“We are expecting to handover the project to the hospital by November 2,”said Wanio Mupande, a civil engineer with UNDP. Speaking after touring projects undertaken by UNDP, in partnership with government in Bulawayo province, Permanent Secretary for Presidential Affairs, Office of the President and Cabinet Tafadzwa Muguti said the project was testimony of government’s ability of not only coming up with projects, but implementing them.

“We would (like) to thank the UNDP for working with Bulawayo province particularly with local health institutions. More important is the skills transfer where you have seen UNDP engineers working side by side with local contractors,” he said.

“The beauty of this project is that the laboratory will be certified to WHO BS level 3. Being housed in this region of the country, the lab will give us an opportunity to benchmark other government projects to the same level as well,” said Muguti.

He pointed out that TB was becoming a burden in the region, adding that it was a welcome development for the country to host such grand infrastructure.

UNDP Zimbabwe Resident Representative, Ayodele Odusola said this was one of many strategic projects the UN agency had initiated in Zimbabwe, including assisting the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) to become WHO certified.

“We have also supported MCAZ to become WHO certified in the sense that it can be ranked on the basis of international standards. As I speak to you, 13 countries are coming to MCAZ laboratory for tests.

“We may not appreciate some of the things we see here in the sense that we may think it’s for this country only but soon Zimbabwe will now giving capacity to countries like Malawi, Mozambique and Sudan in terms of quality assurance. Once completed the project will serve many countries in the region,” he said.

Other projects being implemented in Bulawayo province by UNDP include United Bulawayo Hospital 350KwP solar system, Mpilo Central Hospital incinerator building and installation of 250kg/hr incinerator, Integrated sample Transportation and Mpilo Central Hospital 350KwP solar project.

New Ziana