Cerba HealthCare and the International Clinical Laboratories (ICL) sign strategic partnerships to support long term health response locally and increase of patient access to a broader range of laboratory testing across the continent.
The agreement was inked on September 29, 2022, and as indicated, the agreement is expected to leverage the world-class expertise range of Cerba HealthCare and its existing pan-African network Cerba Lancet Africa to sustainably meet the diagnostic tool expectations of patients, physicians and hospitals nationwide.
“This partnership reflects our desire to develop the existing diagnostic offering in Africa, meeting the needs of the greatest number of people across the continent,” said Stéphane Carré, Cerba Lancet Africa CEO at the signing ceremony adding, “We share with ICL management team the same desire to actively and continually upgrade the clinical pathology services in Ethiopia to enable healthcare providers to deliver essential medical support to patients throughout the country.”
As signaled in the signing ceremony, the partnership will not only allow ICL to bolster its unique position in Ethiopia but also serve thousands of patients from surrounding regions including Somalia, Djibouti and South Sudan.
ICL Ethiopia Managing Director Dr. Tamrat Bekele said that the partnership will allow ICL to tap into the huge resources and expertise of Cerba HealthCare, specifically in the field of; oncology, genetics, companion diagnostics, preventive medicine, patient and physician education and research to tackle unique and challenging issues.
“Joining the Cerba HealthCare family is one of my greatest achievements in terms of being able to expand our service and continue to provide quality tests to the population of Ethiopia and the surrounding region,” Dr. Tamrat underlined.
Cerba Lancet Africa is by majority owned by the French group Cerba HealthCare, benefiting from a unique positioning on the whole value chain of medical diagnosis. Alongside a worldwide presence through its expertise in clinical pathology for clinical trials, the Group has sound positions in Europe and Africa.
Cerba HealthCare set foot on the African continent in 2019 where it operates today in 15 countries under the Cerba Lancet Africa umbrella, providing access to accurate diagnosis and high-quality care to more almost 3 million people yearly.
In Ethiopia, ICL stands as the reference player in clinical pathology with unparalleled experience and reputation. Its strong presence across the country allowed the ICL’s team to play a critical role in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exposed vulnerabilities of the numerous health systems across the globe and specifically the African one, together with the need for increased testing and diagnostic services.

A shorter and less toxic treatment for people with visceral leishmaniasis was shown to be effective thanks to a study conducted in Eastern Africa by the non-profit medical research organization Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and its partners. The results were published in The Clinical Infectious Diseases journal.
The new treatment consists of a combination of two drugs: miltefosine (MF), the only oral drug available for leishmaniasis treatment, and paromomycin (PM), an injectable antibiotic.
‘This new treatment is great news for the thousands of patients affected by visceral leishmaniasis in the region. It will eliminate one painful and toxic injection from the treatment and is therefore safer for those affected,’ said Prof. Ahmed Musa, Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Khartoum and Principal Investigator of the clinical trial conducted in Sudan.
Leishmaniasis is the deadliest parasitic killer after malaria. Its most severe form, visceral leishmaniasis (VL), is fatal if left untreated. There are 50,000 to 90,000 new cases of the disease annually, with the highest number of cases worldwide reported in Eastern African countries: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. The disease affects people in resource-limited settings, arid and semi-arid areas. Half of them are children under 15. Leishmaniasis is also a climate-sensitive disease, and its impact could get worse. Therefore, if not addressed, the most vulnerable will continue to suffer.
The current first-line treatment in Eastern Africa consists of paromomycin (PM), an injectable antibiotic used in combination with sodium stibogluconate (SSG), administered either through injection or intravenously. It remains sub-optimal, as patients may suffer from rare but heavy side effects, such as cardiotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and pancreatitis associated with SSG. The treatment is also difficult to administer since patients must endure two painful injections every day for 17 days.
‘The current treatment has significant socio-economic impact as patients are forced to stay in hospital for extended periods and have to miss work or school. With the new treatment patients will spend less time in hospital,’ said Prof. Musa.
The results announced today stem from a clinical trial initiated in 2017 in Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Uganda by the AfriKADIA Consortium with funding from The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). The study compared a new combination of two drugs, miltefosine and paromomycin, given for 14 days, to the standard of care of sodium stibogluconate and paromomycin given for 17 days.

Resettlement compensation for local residents underway

KEFI Minerals (Ethiopia) Ltd which is expected to launch the Tulu Kapi Gold Project of the Tulu Kapi Gold Mines SC (TKGM) in the coming few weeks, discloses that the formation of endowment will allow the investor to undertake regular and formal corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the investment area and Ethiopia.
The company that was awarded a mining license in 2015, which is to span two decades from the commencement of the production, will be the first industrial scale mine development in the country in over 30 years.
So far the information that Capital obtained from senior leadership of the mining firm indicated that the well designed rehabilitation and resettlement of the community that will leave the mining investment area has been finalized for implementation.
According to Abera Mamo, Country Manager of TKGM, the company has formed an endowment called ‘Tulu Kapi Charitable Endowment’ that will be involved in socio economic development in the area.
The endowment will use the fund secured from TKGM and other global partners and companies.
“On its full support program, the endowment will develop schools, health facilities, roads and other huge sustainable development projects that we will be disclosed in the future,” the Country Manager said.
“Currently, the leadership and relevant staffs have already been hired for the endowment, which we consider will provide huge benefits for the community in the area,” he added.
According to the leadership of the mining company, the compensation fund has already been allocated, while the company is working with the relevant public bodies and others to provide capacity building for the community members to utilize their compensation properly.
“A single house hold will get a huge sum of compensation but he or she should have a clue regarding how to use it. For that, training will be provided by experts and the cost for that will be covered by the company,” Abera said.
With regards to commencing the project like erecting a processing plant, the company disclosed that it has already assigned Lycopodium Limited, who are specialists on similar projects having built 57 gold plants and working in over 20 African countries in the past over 20 years. The project that will consume up to USD 300 million is expected to commence by the coming weeks and the production will start by the end of 2024.
The Exploration Licences held by KEFI Minerals cover an area of approximately 200 square kilometers over and near the Tulu Kapi deposit.
When the production commence there will be a yield of 140,000 ounces per annum of gold worth USD 180 million at USD 1,300 per ounce.
Tulu Kapi Gold Project is located in the West Wolega zone, Oromia region 360km west of Addis Ababa.
Recently, TKGM concluded a three-day workshop with representatives of various Ethiopian government agencies and other local representatives to agree on the immediate actions required for the launch of the company’s Tulu Kapi Gold Project.