Twenty-one next-generation public health laboratory professionals in The Gambia have completed an intensive three-day leadership and management workshop to develop strong laboratory leadership skills critical for detecting, monitoring, and responding to public health threats. Initiated by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) International Health Regulations Strengthening Project (IHR-SP) Nigeria team under its collaboration with The Gambia National Public Health Laboratory, the workshop is in recognition of the growing appetite for leadership development as a critical enabler of technical capability across the continent.

Over three days, participants explored core leadership concepts, strengthened management competencies, built skills in communication and cross-sector collaboration, and developed leadership action plans to sustain innovation and resilience in The Gambia’s laboratory network. By building leadership from within, The Gambia has taken a vital step toward ensuring its laboratory system is resilient, adaptive, and ready to respond to future health challenges.

Notably, one of the workshop’s facilitators - a Nigeria CDC laboratory progressional who had been trained through a similar IHR-SP-led leadership workshop in Nigeria - delivered sessions, passing on their skills. This train-the-trainer approach demonstrates IHR-SP commitment to ensuring results are delivered long after an initial programme ends, leading to sustainability of developed capacity. This also underscores the south–south collaboration central to nurturing the next generation of leaders across Nigeria CDC and beyond.

Image: the laboratory leadership workshop underway

The session demonstrated strong engagement, with unanimous approval of workshop content, facilitation, and logistics in participant feedback. Over 80% of participants reported improvements across key areas including leadership, communication, change management, and planning skills. One participant described the training as “so insightful”, whilst another recommended expanding the programme, suggesting that “this training is done again but also more laboratory staff are exposed to this kind of training”.

Nigerian success spreads across continent

The workshop represents the latest success of a programme that began in Nigeria and has now created ripple effects across multiple African countries. Through collaboration with Africa CDC, IHR-SP’s Technical Advisor on Workforce Development in Nigeria has supported the strengthening of laboratory leadership in 12 countries across Eastern and Southern Africa, alongside initiatives to build leadership capacity among State Epidemiologists in Nigeria – the frontline investigators who track disease outbreaks. The success of these programmes also sparked demand for a One Health leadership workshop in Nigeria, designed to foster collaboration across health, environment, and related sectors.

The recent focus on the West Africa sub-region further demonstrates UKHSA IHR-SP’s commitment to strengthening public health networks and leadership ecosystems, ensuring a more resilient and connected response to health challenges across Africa.

Image: all participants of the laboratory leadership workshop