ECHO Sessions Summaries: May to July 2024

Map showing global locations of session attendees
Map showing global locations of session attendees

Between May and July 2024, ASLM’s Laboratory Systems Strengthening Community of Practice (LabCoP) and partners hosted nine ECHO webinar sessions attended by a combined 3,940 participants globally, with an average of 438 attending each session. Although a large proportion of participants connected from Africa, participants from most continents around the world participated in every session. Below are some highlights, key topics and focus areas covered during the ECHO sessions.

Slide from Teferi Mekonen’s presentation during the June ECHO session
Slide from Teferi Mekonen’s presentation during the June ECHO session

The Revised SLIPTA Checklist

Following the release of the revised version of ISO: 15189:2022 in December 2022, the WHO-AFRO SLIPTA checklist was revised to align with the new standard and the revised version released in December 2023 by the SLIPTA secretariat. During the session June 20 ECHO session these updates were discussed in detail. The SLIPTA checklist has been partially digitized, with improved electronic features including automatic summation of scores. Scoring criteria, approaches and modalities remain unchanged from the previous version. Current certified auditors require reorientation and recertification to effectively use the checklist. The SLIPTA secretariat is working on a transition roadmap for both old and new auditors. Through country-level funding, countries can request “fast tracking of their auditors’ reorientation”. Watch the session here.

Adopting Global Guidelines

Three recent sessions have focused on adoption and implementation of global guidelines. On May 9, a session focused on implementation experiences from early adopters of World Health Organization (WHO) standard on universal access to rapid tuberculosis diagnostics and the lessons from Uganda and Nigeria. Watch the session here. In June LabCoP hosted a session that focused on the WHO-recommended three-test algorithm for HIV and the adoption experience from Malawi. The session also covered initiatives to improve general high throughput screening with national-level monitoring and improvement through the HIV Testing Community of Practice implementation by CQUIN. Watch the session here. On June 4, a session was convened to discuss improving diagnostics for drug-resistant tuberculosis. The session focused on reviewing the results of a verification study conducted in Uganda, and implementation experience from Mozambique. Watch the session here. Throughout these sessions, it was made clear that adoption and implementation of global guidelines are necessary, feasible, and learning from early adopters with contextual application facilitates efficiency. 

Waste Management

Slide from Joel Peter Opio’s presentation during the July ECHO session
Slide from Joel Peter Opio’s presentation during the July ECHO session

Through the LabCoP’s Waste Management Sub-Community of Practice, ASLM convened two ECHO sessions in May and July. The May session featured presentations on spent cartridge waste management in VL testing. Watch the session here. The July session covered the handling of molecular liquid waste containing Guanidine Thiocyanate (GTC). Presentations featured the results of a pilot study on the use of hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet light treatment in Uganda, and running a centralized liquid waste incineration plant in Nigeria. Watch the session here. Both sessions demonstrated that developing and implementing sustainable waste management policies and guidelines at regional and country level are necessary and that successful implementation is possible when there are multiple waste management approaches and options to choose from.

Photo courtesy of Uganda NHLS
Photo courtesy of Uganda NHLS

Diagnostic Network Optimisation Sub-Community of Practice (DNO-SubCoP) and Lab Mapping Experiences

ASLM in collaboration with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), hosted two sessions that focused on utilizing laboratory data to optimize diagnostic networks. The June session examined the lab mapping journey and final data use experiences from Malawi and Zimbabwe. Presentations covered the Lab Mapping exercise, from the decision-making process, through the final data use, to support effective management of the national laboratory network. Watch the session here. The July session featured presentations about maximizing laboratory efficiency via geospatial analysis for diagnostic network optimization (DNO). The session highlighted the utility of selected geospatial analyses tools, their abilities to provide insights into service availability, coverage, and data requirements for their optimal application. Watch the session here. In July, an ECHO session was held to discuss a national-level initiative aligned to the Maputo Declaration of 2008, setting up and running a sustainable national equipment maintenance and calibration center. The session highlighted some key considerations during set up, running and attaining international accreditation, and Uganda’s experience. The initiative is billed as a high-cost saving, sustainable approach to general healthcare equipment management. Watch the session here.

Visit the LabCoP ECHO Session library here to watch more webinars about laboratory systems strengthening.