The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), a constituent of the College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, is collaborating with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), to train eight healthcare professionals from six African countries in modern laboratory technology to enhance their skills in combating infectious diseases. The trainees are from the following countries: Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zambia.
The eight-week training is being delivered in two modules: online and in-person. The online component, which consisted mainly of lectures, was held from 20th April to 15th May 2026. The in-person (laboratory sessions) component will run for four weeks from 1st June – 26th June 2026 in the NMIMR Advanced Research Laboratories (ARL) at the University of Ghana in Accra.
Each of the modules: Foundation, Parasitology, Bacteriology, and Virology, were taught by seasoned scientists at NMIMR and other experts from the African region during the virtual phases and will continue for the in-person session. The training is co-funded by JICA and the NMIMR.
The in-person training will cover the most recent developments in Virology, Parasitology, and Bacteriology along with Biosafety, Biosecurity, and Laboratory Quality Management (QMS) practices.
The training course will help biomedical scientists become more knowledgeable and proficient in infectious disease diagnosis and acquaint them with advanced laboratory management skills as they learn from highly experienced NMIMR scientists and engage in practical sessions at the Noguchi Advanced Research Laboratories. This training will also improve the capacity of the participating nation’s facilities in the areas of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Participants will also share best practices and experiences from their countries and build strong networks for future partnerships.
This year’s training is the sixth since 2019. Success stories from previous trainings, for 72 professionals between 2019 and 2023, demonstrate that, in addition to educating their colleagues in their countries, former participants were able to contribute significantly to their countries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the areas of surveillance, sample collection, and RNA extraction and testing, among others.
With the rise in infectious diseases such as Marburg, Mpox, Hanta Virus, Lassa Fever, and, most recently, Ebola in the West African region, this training is timely in ensuring that research and laboratory staff have the requisite expertise to detect and effectively support the containment of these diseases in their own countries.
NMIMR and JICA remain committed to providing world-class biomedical research for better health outcomes and capacity development to Ghana and the rest of Africa.
