The course was designed to strengthen the diagnostic component of disease surveillance and outbreak investigation, an area often neglected in existing training programmes, and to support competent laboratory staff and effective specimen referral systems at intermediate levels of care. The LBDS course has since undergone a comprehensive review and update, incorporating expertise from multiple African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Burundi, and Zambia, with funding support from Emergent BioSolutions

Course goal

The LBDS course aims to strengthen the capacity of laboratory personnel, particularly at intermediate and peripheral levels, to support public health surveillance, early disease detection, and emergency response through accurate, reliable, and timely diagnostic data.

Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

· Explain the critical role of laboratories in IDSR and the International Health Regulations (IHR) through timely detection, confirmation, and reporting of priority diseases, conditions, and public health events

· Implement basic laboratory quality management practices to support continuous improvement in diagnostic performance for disease surveillance and outbreak investigations.

· Apply biosafety and biosecurity principles in laboratory processes to protect individuals, communities, animals and the environment.

· Apply appropriate techniques and processes in specimen collection, packaging, transport, assessment, analysis, storage and disposal to support timely and accurate disease surveillance and outbreak investigations.

· Utilise appropriate laboratory diagnostic assays for disease surveillance and outbreak investigations.

· Apply data management practices for effective analysis and reporting of laboratory data, and effectively communicate with relevant stakeholders within the health system.

The 11-week blended LBDS course, approved by the KMLTTB for award of 50 CPD points is structured in three phases. Phases One and Three are conducted through distance learning at the participants’ workstations. Phase Two is residential training conducted at the Amref Health Africa’s Central Laboratory facilities in Nairobi. The course can be tailored to support specific requirements, on request

· Phase One: two weeks’ pre-training phase equivalent to 30 hours of course work comprising a self-assessment checklist sent to participants to evaluate the capacity of their laboratory for disease surveillance and outbreak investigation. This phase will be conducted between 26 January to 6 February 2026 and 29 June to 10 July 2026

· Phase Two: one-week, equivalent to 40 hours of class-based instruction designed to equip participants with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for disease surveillance and outbreak investigations. Phase 2 will take place at Amref’s Central Laboratories in Nairobi or, where applicable, at relevant Ministry of Health departments. This phase will be conducted between 16 -20 February 2026 and 20 – 24 July 2026

· Post-training phase: Eight weeks’ work-based training equivalent to 120 hours of course work to enable participants to implement targeted improvement projects at their places of work. This phase will be conducted between 23 February to 10 April 2026 and 27 July to 18 September 2026

At the end of the programme, the graduate will be able to:

a) Apply the knowledge and skills acquired in the implementation of public health programs at national and international levels;
b) Design, plan, implement and evaluate school health programmes in Kenya and the region;
c) Develop innovative public health nutrition programmes linking with other sectors to advance mainstreaming public health nutrition for disease prevention;
d) Apply appropriate epidemiological techniques and methods to conduct research that will contribute to policy and practice in the region;
e) Demonstrate and promote professional ethics, appropriate values, and attitudes in public health management and research.
f) Design and conduct a research thesis on track relevant public health problem and publish an article in a peer reviewed journal

Course modules

The LBDS course involves a maximum of 135 hours of course work and it is organised into five modules:

· Introduction to Laboratory-Based Disease Surveillance and Outbreak Investigations

· Laboratory Quality Management, Biosafety and Biosecurity Practices

· Systematic Approach to Specimen Management

· Laboratory Methods and Techniques for Disease Surveillance and Outbreak Investigations

· Data Management and Information Sharing

· Phase One: two weeks’ pre-training phase equivalent to 30 hours of course work comprising a self-assessment checklist sent to participants to evaluate the capacity of their laboratory for disease surveillance and outbreak investigation. This phase will be conducted between 26 January to 6 February 2026 and 29 June to 10 July 2026

· Phase Two: one-week, equivalent to 40 hours of class-based instruction designed to equip participants with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for disease surveillance and outbreak investigations. Phase 2 will take place at Amref’s Central Laboratories in Nairobi or, where applicable, at relevant Ministry of Health departments. This phase will be conducted between 16 -20 February 2026 and 20 – 24 July 2026

· Post-training phase: Eight weeks’ work-based training equivalent to 120 hours of course work to enable participants to implement targeted improvement projects at their places of work. This phase will be conducted between 23 February to 10 April 2026 and 27 July to 18 September 2026

Course Fees: USD 1,100

· USD 500 (equivalent to Ksh60,000) to cover tuition, course and reference materials, stationery, photocopying, courier services for certificates and provision of lunch, tea and snacks.

· An additional USD 600 (equivalent to Ksh76,000) to cover accommodation, dinner, local transport and incidental costs for residential participants

Please note that the course fee excludes participants’ travel-related costs, including air or bus fare, visa fees (where applicable), and travel insurance. For non-Kenya participants, valid travel insurance is mandatory for participation in the residential component in Nairobi

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