China's Wondfo Biotech launches joint laboratory training center with Kenyan university

NAIROBI, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Company Limited, a Chinese manufacturer and distributor of diagnostic equipment, on Monday launched here a laboratory training center jointly with the faculty of health sciences at the University of Nairobi in Kenya.

Senior executives from Wondfo Biotech, faculty members, students and local distributors attended the launching ceremony of the center set up to boost point-of-care testing for infectious and lifestyle diseases in the country.

Bear Xiong, the Kenyan director for Wondfo Biotech, said the establishment of a joint laboratory center will improve the capacity of medical students and their lecturers to operate diagnostic equipment.

According to Xiong, the idea of setting up a joint training center in the medical laboratory at the University of Nairobi was put forward in July 2022, leading to the signing of a memorandum of understanding in April.

The joint laboratory training center will be housed at the University of Nairobi's clinical chemistry faculty and Wondfo Biotech will also facilitate students and faculty members to visit its headquarters in Guangzhou as part of academic exchange and peer learning, Xiong said.

George Osanjo, dean of the faculty of health sciences at the University of Nairobi, said the establishment of a joint laboratory training center marked a milestone in Sino-Kenya cooperation in the field of medicine.

"The laboratory training center also aligns with our vision of deepening academia-industry linkages. It will strengthen clinical services at Kenyatta National Hospital, which is the largest referral hospital in East and Central Africa," Osanjo said.

"Some of the tests that will be carried out at the laboratory training center include toxicology, substance abuse, fertility, cardiovascular, thyroid, diabetes, and common infectious diseases," Osanjo said.

Ramesh Saxena, a medical student from the University of Nairobi, hailed the establishment of the center that will help address the skills gap in operating modern diagnostic equipment. Saxena said the laboratory training center will promote clinical medicine in Kenya by reducing testing time for samples besides averting misdiagnosis that is rampant in under-resourced health facilities.