Botswana Lacking in Skilled Lab Personnel

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Monday March 22, 2010 00:00

 

The Russian health lab expertise and mentor team has been in the country for the past two months to assess the staff and machinery used in labs. They have also been assisting and mentoring lab technicians on HIV and other complicated illnesses.

The team which made these revelations on Friday, have visited the National Health Lab in Gaborone as well as other places in Francistown and have met with lab technicians, different health specialists and practitioners.

One of the team's members, Alexander Semenov, a medical virologist, said that during consultations with the local technicians, they realised that though there is good technology in the labs, there is an enormous lack of skills and knowledge.

He revealed that at some point they had even considered replacing local technicians with a Russian team from their home country. He said their visit to rural places had exposed people's hunger for information even though they did not know where or how they could access it.

Olga Shurpitskaya, a Medical Mycologist, said that she came to Botswana to help create a new specialty in Mycology. She said that the Botswana Ministry of Health identified that a specialist in this field was lacking in the country and needed assistance with bringing it into the country.

Russia in collaboration with America, are working together to establish it in Botswana.

She indicated that such a specialist was critical in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

'Mycology in Botswana is still in the initial stage, and will take time to be fully established in the country, but there is a lot of interest in this new specialist in the labs,' she said.

Another Russian team is expected to visit Botswana in May for more assessments on lab performance.