In sub-Saharan Africa the health sector is currently experiencing an acute shortage of human resources at all levels of the healthcare delivery system. Provision of quality care is not always achievable in the hospitals and health centers. An important component of the services that should be readily available in the hospitals and health centers is a medical laboratory where specimens obtained from patients are processed to aid diagnosis and monitor care and treatment. Health care facilities in the African region are short of trained laboratory professionals, especially in the provincial, district and mission hospitals. However the service required at these health care facilities can be provided by a cadre of appropriately trained medical laboratory scientists.