Support Laboratories in Burkina Faso & Zimbabwe

Project Overview

Since 2020, Action10—together with Human Rights&Science—has supported Senexel Laboratory in BurkinaFaso and two private facilities in Zimbabwe. Our aim is to guide these labs toward ISO17025 accreditation by bolstering their management systems, infrastructure, and human capital, thereby enhancing environmental testing, foodsafety analysis, and publichealth diagnostics.

Key Achievements to Date

• Accreditation Roadmaps Launched
  Senexel has refined its internal quality processes under HR&S mentorship, steadily approaching a formal ISO17025 assessment. In Zimbabwe, two labs completed diagnostic reviews of their management workflows to kick off parallel accreditation pathways.

• Internship and Training Programs
  A collaboration with Ouagadougou University placed Master’s students in rotating internships at Senexel, allowing senior staff to dedicate more time to system improvements while training emerging professionals.

• National Quality Assessment Participation
  Senexel has consistently outperformed national averages in BurkinaFaso’s External Quality Assessment program, demonstrating reliable testing services across multiple proficiency rounds.

• SOP Development & Pilot Testing 
  Through weekly virtual clinics, our team identified critical management gaps and drafted comprehensive standard operating procedures covering sample handling, equipment upkeep, and data reporting—now in pilot at both country sites. 

Implementation Activities

1. Concessional Equipment Loans
   Action10 has provided lowinterest financing to support key equipment upgrades—such as spectrophotometers and biosafety cabinets—with repayments reinvested into a revolving fund to back additional laboratories.

2. Expert Advisory Workshops
   HR&S delivered a series of virtual workshops on ISO17025 requirements and conducted inperson consultancies in Ouagadougou and Harare, crafting tailored action plans for each laboratory.

3. PeerLearning Network
   Quarterly “ActionTalks” convened over fifty lab managers from BurkinaFaso, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. The latest event fostered crosscountry exchanges on supplychain resilience and qualitymanagement strategies.

Impact Summary

• Improved Data Integrity
  Digital recordkeeping at Senexel has cut transcription errors by an estimated 40%.

• Workforce Development
  More than twenty Master’s interns completed rotations; the majority have secured roles in national publichealth labs.

• Collaborative Procurement
  Zimbabwean partner labs formed a procurement consortium to pool reagent orders, reducing delays and costs.

Lessons Learned & Next Steps

1. Strengthen Local Ownership
   Codesigning SOPs accelerated buyin, but ongoing mentorship is needed to ensure consistent application across all staff shifts.

2. Address SupplyChain Volatility
   Fluctuating reagent availability in Zimbabwe highlights the urgency of scaling the pooledprocurement pilot in Q32025.

3. Audit & Accreditation Timeline

   • Senexel: Preaudit scheduled August2025, ISO17025 assessment by yearend.

   • Zimbabwe Labs: Readiness review in September2025.

4. ScaleUp Strategy
   Pending successful accreditation, we plan to onboard additional laboratories in 2026, leveraging our revolving fund and established HR&S network.