Defense Reference Laboratory (DRL) achieves 5-star status

May 23 2017: The Defense Reference Laboratory (DRL), situated at the Mogadishu Barracks Abuja has achieved an initial 5-star status from the Strengthening Laboratory Monitoring Towards Accreditation (SLMTA). This award came after an assessment from auditors led by Dr. Rosemary Okoye and assisted by Mr. Tony Okon. DRL was assessed based on a 25-item SLMTA checklist – ISO 15189 on its consistent and quality management content. Core factors assessed include laboratory management control and technical competence. At conclusion of the audit, DRL tipped the scales with a total score of 268 points out of 269, earning it a 5-star rating. This achievement is coming just after the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital’s 5-star rating in May of the same year.

DRL supports 46 Program sites located in military health facilities in viral load and EID (Early Infant Diagnosis testing. It also, provides clinical support to other external laboratories and research institutions. Aside from its par excellence services in clinical and laboratory interventions, DRL is acknowledged as one of most outstanding laboratories in Nigeria with its state-of-the-art laboratory equipment such as the liquid nitrogen generating plant (LN2), multi-headed microscopes, TAQMAN analyser gene-expert machines.