Resource Centre
June 2022 LabCoP Extended ECHO Session: Non-Lab Worker Testing Cadres and POC Tests: An Essential Combination
July 7, 2022
On 23 June 2022, this Extended ECHO session was convened to discuss best practices and the potential of lay health workers in supporting health services delivery, especially diagnostics at decentralised health facilities, the first point of contact for patients seeking healthcare support. In this discussion, Mr Zibusiso Ndlovu, Epidemiologist and Laboratory Advisor, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Southern Africa and Dr Patrice Tchendjou, Country Director, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Cameroon shared how testing initiatives that centre on lay cadres and non-laboratory personnel can help scale up access to essential diagnostics and increase testing of HIV-exposed infants whose status are known. This can be done through task shifting to non-laboratory medical staff who implement point-of-care (POC) testing to avert delays of early initiation of treatment respectively. Please follow the links here to view the recorded ECHO session and download the presentation slides.