SILAB for Africa

SILAB for Africa (SILABFA) is a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) designed to support diagnostic laboratory activities. The web-based application is developed and maintained by the IT staff of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale of Abruzzo and Molise (IZSAM) for use in laboratories across African countries. The prototype was first presented in April 2009 at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Diagnostic Meeting held in Windhoek, Namibia.

This laboratory information management system is designed to support diagnostic activities, playing a key role in facilitating laboratory accreditation processes, conducting epidemiological surveillance, and rapidly reporting outbreaks. SILABFA enables veterinary laboratories to track samples from reception to test reports, streamlining the link between diagnostic results and field responses through the transition from paper-based to computerised systems. The system is innovative in the way it has been tailored to the needs of African veterinary laboratories. It allows interoperability with external systems, standardises diagnostic activities, and harmonises test reports. In some countries, SILAB has been integrated with animal and farm identification and traceability systems; in others, it connects to FAO's EMAI system, which collects sampling data in case of suspected outbreaks. In other instances, standardised antimicrobial resistance (AMR) data are automatically extracted and prepared for submission to national external systems. Additionally, a mobile app has been developed in English, French, and Italian to assist field staff in the proper collection of animal samples.

A successfully implemented laboratory information management system significantly improves data accuracy, increases laboratory productivity, and enhances overall effectiveness. SILABFA allows laboratories to organise all relevant data, retrieve information quickly, and generate reports. It also facilitates data sharing, thereby promoting collaboration between departments. Over the years, this software has significantly improved the diagnostic and early warning capabilities of African laboratories, increasing diagnostic efficiency and strengthening laboratory capacity for epidemiological surveillance and alert.

In November 2011, the Southern African Development Community officially recognised SILABFA as the preferred LIMS for SADC countries, and several other African countries have since requested its installation.
Since 2010, IZSAM has devoted substantial human and financial resources to the SILABFA project, implementing the information system in the first African laboratories. In 2013, the FAO began funding the expansion of SILABFA use across many African countries with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This support continues today, based on the conviction that the broader development of LIMS across laboratories in the region and the continent will greatly benefit overall laboratory management and information flow, as well as the quality of collected data. Operating a shared LIMS system across most countries on the continent provides national veterinary laboratories with the opportunity to strengthen their capacity for surveillance and early warning at both national and regional levels—an approach aligned with the FAO-supported Regional Laboratory Networking strategy in Africa.

As of the end of 2021, 18 African countries were using SILABFA in 45 laboratories, some of which operate a streamlined version called SLIMS.