he underlying philosophy and rationale of this policy is that health laboratory services are essential for the delivery of quality health care and should be made available to all the people
of Uganda. Poor health laboratory services subject patients to inappropriate treatments, chronic ill-health, high out-of-pocket expenditures on health care, loss of incomes and ultimately loss
of confidence in health services. Moreover, poor laboratory services are also costly in terms of high wastage of scarce public resources on ineffective treatments, loss of economic
productivity of the population due to chronic illness and loss of life.

The policy aims to provide a framework for ensuring that the health laboratory services in Uganda are strengthened so as to adequately support the effective and efficient delivery of the
Uganda National Minimum Health Care Package (UNMHCP) to all people in Uganda, as advocated by the National Health Policy.
The idea to develop this policy was first conceived in 1994. Several efforts have gone into producing the policy, with one draft written in 2004, and another in 2006. This policy builds on
these efforts. The process has involved extensive consultations with representatives from several stakeholder institutions, development partners, and laboratory staff drawn from health facilities at different levels, through workshops and meetings, and the review and analysis of several policy documents dealing with health issues in Uganda.