The Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC) was established to facilitate trade between Jamaica and its trading partners which, according to the agency’s chief executive ifficer, Sharonmae Shirley, includes medical testing that is done to support the national COVID-19 testing regime.

A critical tool in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic is the availability of competent medical laboratories and point-of-care testing facilities that can produce fast, accurate and reliable test results.

In support of other COVID-19 mitigation strategies, the increased accessibility of competent COVID-19 testing services impact several aspects of our daily lives. These range from the diagnoses and management of patient care, the safe conduct of business and social activities, as well as cross-border travel.

Currently, there is one (1) laboratory that has been ISO 15189 accredited by JANAAC for COVID-19 testing and 51 entities that have been pre-accredited under the JANAAC Pre-Accreditation Approval Programme (PAAP).

The table below provides a summary of the number of JANAAC-approved COVID-19 testing facilities that are available for use by members of the public and visitors to our nation’s shores.

NUMBER OF JANAAC-APPROVED (ACCREDITED & PRE-ACCREDITED) COVID-19 TESTING FACILITIES BY PARISH	Total
Kingston	St. Catherine	Clarendon	Manchester	St. Ann	St. James	Westmoreland	52
17	9	5	1	4	12	4

As the only internationally recognised accreditation body in the English-speaking Caribbean, JANAAC’s accreditation services are peer evaluated by international organisations to meet the quality, rigour, integrity and impartiality requirements accepted globally.

In verifying and validating the competence of facilities, Shirley explained that, “JANAAC conducts assessments that witness the suitability of the facilities, equipment, sampling practices, test methods, traceability and accuracy of results. Test reports, patient handling, among other technical activities are also evaluated”.

JANAAC offers accreditation services to Jamaica and nine regional client territories, namely Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Suriname, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Among its accredited clients are major medical testing labs that operate in Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.

“JANAAC encourages accredited medical and testing laboratories to expand their scope of accreditation to include COVID-19 testing of clinical or non-clinical samples, and invites unaccredited laboratories and Point of Care Testing facilities (POCT) to apply to its PAAP for COVID-19 testing,” said Shirley.

“These programmes are designed to validate the competence of COVID-19 testing providers to meet established international standards, and protect the safety and wellbeing of consumers.”

Shirley urged consumers to look for the JANAAC Accreditation Symbol or the JANAAC PAAP Symbol to confirm whether the facility they visit is approved to conduct COVID-19 tests.