LocationsUpon completion, the lab will end delays and costs associated with the transportation of samples to the national reference lab in Juba – about 765 kilometres away, needing about 13 hours if one moves by road.
Artistic impressions of the Aweil State Reference Lab
UNDP/South Sudan
A major transformation is taking place at Aweil State Hospital. This is because of the ongoing construction of the Aweil State Reference Laboratory designed to serve as a test centre for the estimated one million people of Northern Bahr el Ghazal – one of the ten states in South Sudan.
This construction started in January 2025 and is expected to be completed in May 2025 upon which the laboratory will bring services closer, improve disease diagnosis and treatment. It will also end delays and costs that come with the transportation of samples to the national reference lab in Juba – about 765 kilometres away, needing about 13 hours if one moves by road.
About 530 people, mainly patients with complex health conditions that cannot be handled at lower-level health facilities, seek medical care at Aweil State Hospital every day. This project is one of the legacy investments supported under the Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) grant being implemented by the Ministry of Health, UNDP and partners, with funding from the Global Fund.
The current main entrance of Aweil State Hospital is to also be given a facelift
UNDP/Michael Mubangizi
According to Dr. Gregory Wani, the Director, National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL), the lab is going to have many departments including, “a virology department dealing with HIV, a bacteriology department dealing with things like cholera outbreaks and the department of molecular virology handling virological diseases like Marburg virus disease. That means that this lab will be able to test all the diseases.”
Technical teams from the Ministry of Health, the National Public Health Laboratory, UNDP and partners at the construction site.
UNDP/Michael Mubangizi
Technical teams from the Ministry of Health, NPHL, UNDP and partners visited to inspect the ongoing construction which has been well received by the local leadership, the Ministry of Health and partners as a game-changer in the provision of quality health services.
“This lab will help us do a lot of tests here at the state level. We will not be taking the samples again to the national lab in the capital Juba. This will bring the services closer to the people in need at the state and county levels,” William Deng, the Director General of the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Ministry of Health, said. Mr. Deng added that Northern Bahr el Ghazal is one of the most populated states in the country with many refugees and returnees mainly from Sudan.
William Deng, the Director General of the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Ministry of Health.
UNDP/Michael Mubangizi
Similarly, Dr. Wani, the Director, NPHL, said the construction is timely, given South Sudan’s context as a large and disease-ridden country.
“All the modern technology is going to be deployed in this place in Aweil and it is our hope that the completion of this project will bring a very fast response to diseases and treatment. This will also minimize difficulties in the transportation of specimens from here to Juba and bring efficiency in the provision of health services,” Dr. Wani said.
Transportation of samples from Aweil to Juba is very complex, given the long distance of about 765 kilometres that takes about 13 hours by road and the required cold chain temperature ranges for the carriage of samples.
Dr. Gregory Wani, Director of National Public Health Laboratory
UNDP/Michael Mubangizi
Thus, according to Dr. Wani, “The specimens are only transported by flights and the flights are very irregular. The specimens have to go under cold chains and our cold chain system is really very poor.”
“So, the quality of the specimens is at most times compromised. That’s why sometimes we have received results that don’t match what is on the ground. That is one problem that we are going to solve. There will be no doubt of whatever results that are going to be produced, and there will be no doubt of the drug that is going to be used,” Dr. Wani said.
Dorcas Amule, the TB/HIV Programme Officer for the Archangelo Ali Association (AAA), said the reference laboratory which will support the Northern Bahr el Ghazal and the neighbouring states, “And everybody will get help through the project.”
Deng Piol, the Director, Aweil State Hospital, said the lab will not just be a building in their premises; rather, “it will provide us with capacity building to the laboratory technicians and also provide opportunities to our people.”
