Uganda DNA lab hit by lack of reagents

The national analytical laboratory in Uganda has been forced to suspend DNA testing because of a lack of reagents, according to The Observer.

Uganda has been carrying out DNA testing since 2007, and in just five years, 1,747 tests have been carried out, 784 of which are for proof of paternity and 963 for police investigations. The laboratory is also carrying out testing where human remains cannot be identified, and are working in close collaboration with the Administrator General.

But since May, the laboratory, located in Wandegeya, Kampala, has not carried out any tests, and there is a significant backlog beginning to form. Eric Atalao Dradrio, acting commissioner in the directorate of Government Analytical Laboratory, said the situation is bound to get worse, with a backlog of 288 cases so far.

"What we are doing now is that we are turning away people. The cases are accumulating. What that means is that there is a delay in justice,” Mr Dradrio told The Observer.

The delay has been caused by the stringent measures in the procurement of the reagents, which requires advertising for the services. Once a supplier is identified, an order is then placed for them.

"The accountant general issued an instruction that there should be pre-shipment inspection. He did this because the contract was already running. It was a control measure in procurement," Mr Dradrio said.

Pre-inspection is routine in Uganda, but it has been found that the accountant general’s instruction means chemicals were being imported before certification, which is an irregular practice. Reagents are used to test both forensics and paternity matters, which means that a number of men in Uganda suspect that the children they have been told to have sired might not actually be their offspring.

Because of the emotional disappointment which may stem from these results, the amount of tests required has dropped, which has hit the lab's revenues.

Posted by Ben Evans