On August 5, 2021, the World Health Organization donated three real-time PCR machines to the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) for distribution to Afar, Somali, and Gambella regions to strengthen their COVID-19 testing capacity. In addition, 5000 Abbot real-time PCR test kits and 10,000 Abbott Ag rapid diagnostic kits (RDT) were also donated during the handing over ceremony.

“Expanding the capacity for COVID-19 testing is key to slowing down COVID-19 transmission and reducing sickness and death in the country,” said Dr Indrajit Hazarika, Health Systems Strengthening lead at WHO Ethiopia. “WHO is pleased to contribute to the Ethiopian government’s efforts to expand laboratory capacity for COVID-19 testing in all regions, which is key for timely case detection, isolation and treatment.”

A diagnostic test helps to confirm whether patients presenting for care with COVID-like symptoms actually have the virus. It also allows cases to be appropriately managed, and public health measures such as isolation or quarantine to be put into place as soon as possible. Additionally, diagnostics is an important tool in contact tracing as testing all contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases is critical to interrupting the chain of transmission of COVID-19 in a community. Lastly, diagnostics provide us with tools for surveillance and rapid situation analysis to monitor disease trends over time and assess the effectiveness of control interventions.

Since the beginning of 2020, WHO has been working with EPHI in coordinating the assessment and strengthening of public, private, and university laboratories in the country for COVID-19 testing. WHO supported the training of laboratory staff, and helped equip laboratories, and install a digital information management system for accurate data processing and reporting.  A national laboratory network has also been established for timely result dissemination to ensure a coordinated pandemic response.

Before the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ethiopia did not have the capacity to conduct real-time PCR tests for SARS-CoV 2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In February 2020, real-time PCR COVID-19 testing started at the National Influenza Laboratory of EPHI with WHO technical support and using test kits donated by WHO. In subsequent months, the number of COVID-19 testing laboratories using real-time PCR machines grew to 85. Most of these laboratories are currently engaged in the detection of SAR-CoV-2 throughout the country.