Submission ID 130807
| Issue/Objective | Equitable public health action depends on strong local and regional systems that can safely manage biological specimens and associated data for surveillance, research, preparedness, and outbreak response. In West Africa, however, accreditation-ready biobanking capacity remains limited. From 30 March to 2 April 2026, the Economic Community of West African States Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control (ECOWAS-RCSDC), in collaboration with Institut Pasteur Côte d'Ivoire (IPCI), conducted a baseline assessment of the IPCI Biobank against ISO 20387:2018. The objective was to assess accreditation readiness, identify critical system gaps, and define priority actions required to strengthen the biobank as a regional public health resource. |
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| Methodology/Approach | A four-day on-site situational audit was conducted using the ISO 20387 assessment framework and covered all major biobanking processes. The review examined governance, infrastructure, personnel, biosafety, environmental conditions, equipment, traceability, specimen reception and distribution, storage, quality control, validation, data management, and management system requirements. Methods included document review, staff interviews, direct observation, facility walkthroughs, traceability exercises, daily synthesis sessions, and a closing debrief with leadership and staff. The assessment was designed not only to identify nonconformities, but also to inform locally owned improvement priorities within an emerging regional quality system. |
| Results | The assessment identified important strengths, including strong institutional leadership, committed staff, existing quality documents, partial operational traceability, and selected advanced equipment. It also revealed major gaps across core ISO 20387 domains, particularly in documented procedures, biosafety and safety systems, infrastructure, environmental monitoring, equipment maintenance and metrology, method validation, staff competence assessment, transport and dispatch procedures, disaster preparedness, and full implementation of the management system. These findings generated a clear set of priority corrective actions and confirmed that, with sustained mentorship and phased investment, the biobank has realistic potential to progress toward accreditation and serve as a credible regional platform for specimen management and public health support in West Africa. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | Strengthening regional biobanking capacity is a practical and strategic health systems intervention for advancing equity in preparedness and response. Beyond identifying gaps, this assessment established an operational roadmap for targeted quality improvement, workforce strengthening, and institutional readiness. A phased, locally anchored model combining assessment, mentorship, corrective action planning, and regional collaboration can help transform promising institutions into resilient public health assets that expand equitable access to quality-assured specimen systems across West Africa. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Kayode Akanbi ECOWAS-Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control / West African Health Organization Kayode Akanbi ECOWAS Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control / West African Health Organization Chinelo Ebruke ECOWAS-Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control / West African Health Organization Babacar Fall ECOWAS-Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control / West African Health Organization Mamadou Diarrassouba ECOWAS-Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control / West African Health Organization Babacar Fall ECOWAS Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control / West African Health Organization Chinelo Ebruke ECOWAS Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control / West African Health Organization Mamadou Diarrassouba ECOWAS Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control / West African Health Organization Kayode Akanbi ECOWAS Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control / West African Health Organization |
