PMI trains Senegalese lab technicians, donates microscopes

Laboratory technician Kamassan Mady of the Saraya Health District in southern Senegal completes training on a PMI-funded microscope on March 28, 2008. Photo: Richard Nyberg, USAID

THIES, Senegal, March 28, 2008 – The U.S. Government through the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) today presented the first 29 of 82 state-of-the-art microscopes to senior laboratory technicians trained by PMI and its partners to detect and stop the malaria parasite from claiming more lives all over Senegal.

The district health technicians trained in malaria diagnosis using microscopy will travel home with one microscope plus slides and other essential materials for their laboratories. This is part of a PMI effort to improve the quality of malaria diagnosis by training or giving refresher training to laboratory staff in every district of Senegal. In total, PMI is donating over $357,000 in microscopes and lab equipment for Senegal’s health districts.

“The major challenge in malaria control can be summarized in one word: quality – quality of diagnosis and quality of results,” said Dr. Hassane Yaradou, chief technical officer in Senegal’s Ministry of Health.

“The support provided by the American government is very pertinent in that it does not only reinforce the knowledge of laboratory technicians but it also provides all of Senegal’s districts with microscopes and materials to carry out a biological diagnosis enabling correct treatment.”

As part of the training, instructors were able to demonstrate key concepts to technicians using a special training microscope. This two-headed microscope permits both the instructor and the trainee to view the same slide at the same time so that the instructor can point parasites out to the trainee in real time.

“The training microscope that they are using here makes it easier to clear up problems and give better explanations,” said Dr. Abdoulaye Diop of Senegal’s National Malaria Control Program. “In this way we can make sure that everyone truly understands how to read malaria slides.” He added that all of the technicians said that the new microscopes unpacked for the training were of higher quality than those currently in their laboratories.

Anne-Marie Mendy, senior laboratory technician in Koungheul in central Senegal, said the microscope is “very sophisticated” and easy to use than her previous microscope. “I have learned a lot about parasites in this training session. I will never mistake the parasite Plasmodium falciparum again because the trainers were very precise in their explanations.“

It was the first time for Kamassan Mady of the Saraya Health District in southern Senegal and many others to have this type of training. “This microscope is a very important tool for us,” he said. “The equipment does the work.” 

PMI is an interagency initiative led by USAID with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and host-country governments as key partners. PMI seeks to help national malaria control programs cut malaria-related deaths by 50 percent in 15 focus countries in Africa. This goal will be achieved by reaching 85 percent of the most vulnerable groups -- children under five years of age and pregnant women -- with proven and effective prevention and treatment measures. These include medication for pregnant women, insecticide-treated mosquito nets, and indoor residual spraying of the walls of homes

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