Africa-Press – Malawi. Malawi Anti-Doping Organisation (Mado) has lamented the suspension of accreditation for South Africa’s Bloemfontein Anti- Doping Laboratory, the only accredited facility in Africa, for “multiple non-conformities” with international standards.
On Tuesday, World Anti- Doping Agency (Wada) announced that it had suspended the accreditation of Africa’s only accredited anti-doping laboratory from March 1 due to “multiple non-compliances” to meet international standards. According to www.insidethegames, Wada has suspended accreditation of the laboratory in Bloemfontein for up to six months.
“The suspension prohibits the laboratory from conducting any anti-doping activities including the analysis of urine and blood samples, with the exception of analyses related to the haematology module of the athlete biological passport,” Wada’s statement reads.
Mado Board Member and Education Commission Chairperson Oscar Kanjala described the suspension as a setback to the African continent. “This is very sad news for Africa and Malawi. It will make the whole testing process very difficult and more costly. The process will now be complicated,” Kanjala said.
He encouraged local medical institutions and laboratories to try their luck and apply for accreditation to Wada. Netball Association of Malawi General Secretary Isaac Chimwala shared the concern.
“This is not good news. It is only last month that we expressed concern over the high cost of accessing the facility, which was only some kilometers away. I wonder what it will be like now,” Chimwala said.
Doping sees athletes being subjected to random tests at international tournaments and those found wanting are punished. Netballer Takondwa Lwazi, who retired from the Malawi National Netball Team, is one of the athletes who have undergone the tests.
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