Better Labs for Better Health is an intersectoral approach that seeks to provide sustainable improvements to the quality of all laboratories that deal with health.

Better Labs for Better Health is based upon WHO’s global vision of laboratory strengthening (the Maputo Declaration on Strengthening of Laboratory Systems, 2008), namely that well-functioning, sustainable laboratory services, operating according to international principles of quality and safety, are essential  for strong health systems and crucial for improving public health.

Within this context, the Better Labs for Better Health initiative reflects the fact that the laboratory sector is one of the core capacities that countries must develop for the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005), because laboratory services play a major role in all the key processes of detection, assessment, response, notification, and monitoring of events.

The Better Labs for Better Health collaboration also provides a platform for coordination with external partners and donors in laboratory strengthening to ensure best use of scarce resources.

Better Labs for Better Health was launched in 2012 in partnership with the WHO Collaborating Centre for Laboratory Strengthening at the Royal Tropical Institute, the Netherlands.