12 professionals receive the first International Certification for Malaria Microscopists held in Equatorial Guinea

The Ministry of Health and Health Infrastructure held a closing ceremony this Friday to present certificates to 12 laboratory professionals who completed the first International Certification Program for Malaria Microscopists held in Equatorial Guinea, in accordance with standards recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The event was attended by government officials, presidential advisors, directors-general, representatives of agencies and partners affiliated with the Ministry, as well as health sector professionals and technicians, who joined the participants in marking this milestone in strengthening the country’s malaria diagnostic capabilities.

The process took place over three weeks of technical training in Malabo, coordinated by the National Malaria Control Program (PNLP), with support from MCD Global Health through the Bioko Island Malaria Elimination Project (BIMEP), and in collaboration with Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) in Dakar.

A total of 19 professionals were initially selected from various health districts and the central level. Following a rigorous competency assessment, 12 participants advanced to the final phase, where they took theoretical and practical tests as part of the External Competency Assessment (ECA), under the guidance of WHO-certified international expert Dr. Mamadou Alpha Diallo.During the ceremony, the Minister of Health and Health Infrastructure emphasized that the certification represents much more than the presentation of a document, as it helps strengthen an essential capacity for patient care and malaria surveillance.

“Today we are presenting certificates, but what we are truly celebrating is the effort of a group of professionals who have thoroughly prepared themselves to better perform a task on which many lives in this country depend: the accurate diagnosis of malaria.”

Microscopy makes it possible to confirm the infection, identify the parasite, and determine its density—information that is essential for guiding treatment and ensuring reliable diagnoses. Implementing this process in Equatorial Guinea represents a significant step forward in developing national capabilities for certification and quality control in malaria diagnosis.

The Ministry plans to consolidate this capacity through ongoing training of the teams and by strengthening the reference laboratory in Baney, thereby contributing to the objectives set out in the Malaria Elimination Plan – Vision 2030.

The Minister congratulated the 12 certified professionals and urged them to share the knowledge they had acquired and help raise quality standards in their respective laboratories.

The Ministry expressed its gratitude for the technical assistance provided by the WHO and UCAD, as well as the technical and financial support from MCD Global Health, which have helped make this process possible.

The certification of these 12 professionals, following a national selection process and international evaluation, marks an important step toward building sustainable national capacity for high-quality malaria diagnosis and its elimination in Equatorial Guinea.