"Lancet" Editorial Cites QAP's Hospital Accreditation Program

The journal "The Lancet" recently recognized the Quality Assurance Project's work implementing a National Hospital Accreditation Programme in Zambia.

The editorial "Paediatric emergency care in developing countries," (January 13, 2001) mentioned the program, which was started in 1997 with technical assistance from QAP. In addition, QAP completed a qualitative operations research study to document the evolution of an accreditation program in a developing country.

The editorial's author, Elizabeth Molyneux, called for standards and cost-effective techniques to increase compliance with quality standards, including accreditation programs, to improve the quality of healthcare and reduce children's mortality in developing countries.

"Implementation is not completed," wrote Molyneux of QAP's Zambian initiative, "but other countries could learn from their experience."

The commentary referenced QAP's publication "Setting up a National Hospital Accreditation Program: The Zambian Experience," by N. Bukonda, H. Abdallah, J. Tembo, and J. Karin, published in 2000.

Return to "What's New"