Who We Are
The Laboratory Systems Strengthening Community of Practice (LabCoP) is led by the African Society for Laboratory Medicine, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. LabCoP is made up of a diverse group of stakeholders and country teams (currently 19) comprised of laboratorians, lab managers, clinicians, ministries of health, civil society, and others.
What We Do
LabCoP fosters a south-south knowledge exchange and joint learning by linking together country teams from across Africa with global experts, and sharing the knowledge and best practices of laboratory systems strengthening amongst ministries of health. Topics include monitoring and evaluation (M&E), HIV viral load testing scale up, tuberculosis (TB), COVID-19 and more.
How To Join
Any African country can join LabCoP by submitting a letter of support from their ministry of health and identifying a multi-disciplinary team that includes laboratorians, clinicians, program managers, and any representatives of civil society. Check the list of participating country teams below to see if your country is already involved in LabCoP.

Sharing and co-creation of knowledge and best practices

LabCoP Sub-Communities of Practice

LabCoP has three sub-communities of practice (sub-CoP) that focus on specific laboratory topics vital to maintaining a strong laboratory system that produces better health outcomes for patients. Find out more about these sub-CoPs and the ways that they help support the laboratory systems of the countries that participate by exploring the links below.

Monitoring & Evaluation

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Waste Management

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Diagnostic Network Optimisation

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LabCoP Resource Library

The resources gathered here are designed to provide LabCoP country teams and stakeholders with tools, guidance, information and best practices from neighbouring countries and global health organisations, to help them scale up a variety of laboratory and diagnostics capabilities. Check out LabCoP Connect newsletter, ECHO sessions, the Cookbook of Best Practices and more!

Explore Here

LabNetLead

The LabNetLead course introduces concepts and activities essential to adequately design, optimise, lead and manage functional, high-quality laboratory networks.

Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

+ - What is LabCoP?

LabCoP is an abbreviation for Laboratory Systems Strengthening Community of Practice. It is a collaborative learning network of multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder country teams working together to create knowledge and to share information, experiences and best practices. LabCoP is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and supported by ICAP at Columbia University and Project ECHO™ (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. ASLM’s LabCoP initially focused on supporting country teams to scale up high-quality HIV viral load monitoring for improved patient outcomes through the strengthening of laboratory system functions. Over time, LabCoP has expanded to address health system issues beyond HIV to include COVID-19, tuberculosis, waste management, and monitoring and evaluations (M&E).

+ - Why LabCop?

Some countries are making more rapid progress fighting a given disease, suggesting that they might have identified, adapted, and are implementing best practices to meet the needs of their local context. What works in one country could be adapted and applied in another. Additionally, the challenges a laboratory system faces not only concern laboratorians, but also clinicians, communities, patients and policy makers, who ensure appropriate demand for testing, correct utilisation of test results, and implementation of enabling policies. Creating, exchanging and disseminating best practices among multi-country working groups through LabCoP can accelerate the scale up of diagnostic testing for improved patient outcomes.

+ - What does LabCoP aim to achieve?

To provide a platform fostering peer-to-peer exchange amongst laboratorians, clinicians, policy makers and communities, leveraging expertise across Africa and beyond. LabCoP activities will be articulated around:

  • Knowledge creation facilitated by country teams engaged in collaborative problem solving to identify best practices (from creating patient and provider demand, to test requisition, specimen collection, transportation, testing, the return of results, and finally, to the effective utilisation of test results to guide patient management).
  • Knowledge dissemination of identified solutions regarding key challenges in the testing cascade will leverage programmatic case-based learning, to promote the adoption of locally derived best practices. Knowledge dissemination will be supported by the ECHO™ education and collaborative problem-solving model and platform developed by the University of New Mexico.
+ - What will LabCoP do?

Activities in LabCoP include:

  • a series of online seminars, workshops, interactive working groups, webinars and video teleconferencing sessions to facilitate the creation, sharing and adoption of laboratory best practices or lessons learned. All virtual sessions will be moderated by an experienced facilitator.
  • a yearly face to face meeting to maintain country engagement and evaluate the achievement of LabCoP.
  • an opportunity for continuous asynchronous interaction through use of the WhatsApp communication and collaboration platform to promote sharing of knowledge, experience, and resources across the LabCoP community.
  • In addition, LabCoP will support countries to conduct baseline and follow up self-assessment of the country testing cascade. This information will contribute to populating a dashboard highlighting and identifying gaps and strengths as well as monitoring the advancement in laboratory systems strengthening initiatives in participating countries.
+ - How do I become a LabCoP member?

LabCoP membership is based on country teams rather than individual membership. Membership is voluntary, free of charge and is open for any country in sub-Saharan Africa. Countries that are interested in becoming a member of LabCoP are advised to take the following steps to register with ASLM:

  • Ensure that a country team (working group) including representatives of laboratory services, clinical care and the civil society can be constituted
  • Obtain the support of the Ministry of Health in your country for participation in LabCoP. The LabCoP team can provide templates for letters of interest.
  • Send a letter of interest signed by a senior official at the Ministry of Health to ASLM using the contact address described in #10 below;
  • Once your country has become a member, the country working team will have immediate access to participation in a series of online best practice sharing webinars and video teleconferencing sessions.
+ - What is a country working group?

Members of the country working team should be volunteers chosen based on merit, and should be comprised of, but are not restricted to laboratorians, clinicians, strategic information officers, pharmacists, representatives from the Ministry of Health, people living with disease, community activists, program people and delegates from local and international implementing partners. About 8-10 people are adequate for the establishment of a country working team.

+ - What does it mean to be a LabCoP member country?

Being a LabCoP member gives the country the opportunity to share and highlight its successes and challenges, and to learn from other countries. Member countries will have the opportunity to receive technical assistance to design laboratory capacity strengthening interventions based on identified best practices.

LabCoP country working teams are expected to engage in online and offline work sessions with other countries to identify, validate, and prioritize best practices including along the entire HIV viral load testing cascade. We anticipate that online work sessions will be organized at least once a month and that preparatory work might take a maximum of half a day per week.

+ - Are there any financial incentives for member countries?

There are no financial incentives foreseen. Cost for internet or communication will be supported by the project. Support for procurement of video conferencing equipment can be negotiated if necessary. LabCoP will support identification, dissemination and adoption of best practices, but will not fund their implementation.

+ - When did LabCoP project start?

ASLM’s LabCoP was launched on 24 October 2017 during an African regional viral load scale-up conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

+ - Whom to contact?

Should you require additional information about LabCoP, or for queries related to membership, please contact the project leadership team.

  • Dr Collins Otieno Odhiambo, LabCoP Project Lead, email
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George Alemnji
PhD, MPH
Heather Alexander
PhD
Solange Baptiste
ScM
Smiljka de Lussigny
MPharm, MPH
Peter Ehrenkranz
MD, MPH
Fausta Mosha
MD, PhD, MSc
Zibusiso Ndlovu
MSc, BSc
Yenew Kebede
PhD
Rituparna Pati
MD, MPH
Trevor Peter
PhD, MPH
Jason Williams
MPH
Juliet Bryant
PhD
Dr Collins Otieno Odhiambo

Project Lead, LabCoP, ASLM

Francis Ocen

Project Manager, LabCoP, ASLM

Anafi Mataka

Education Component Lead, LabCoP, ASLM

Dr Marguerite Massinga Loembe

DNO Sub-CoP Technical Lead, LabCoP, ASLM

Michael Waweru

M&E Technical Support Lead, LabCoP, ASLM

Charles Lamou

Project Officer, LabCoP, ASLM

Dr Samba Diallo

Francophone Coordinator, LabCoP, ASLM

Felix Humwa

Science Manager, ASLM

David Lewin

Communications Manager, ASLM

Fitsum Abebe

Information Technology and Web Specialist, ASLM

Botswana
Thongbotho Mphoyakgosi - Team Lead
Burkina Faso
Dr Patrick Djim Madingar - Team Lead
Burundi
Dr Anatole Nkeshimana - Team Lead
Cameroon
Dr Rina Djubgang - Team Lead
Congo-Brazzaville
Dr Marie Yvonne Nkodia Loumouamou - Team Lead
Côte d'Ivoire
Dr Adama Diomande - Team Lead
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Dr Jérémie Muwonga  Masidi - Team Lead
Eswatini
Sindisiwe Dlamini - Team Lead
Ethiopia
Daniel Melesse - Team Lead
Gabon
Véronique M'pirah - Team Lead
Kenya
Nancy Bowen - Team Lead
Malawi
Joseph Bitilinyu-Bangoh - Team Lead
Mozambique
Adolfo Vubil - Team Lead
Nigeria
Dr Clement Adesigbin - Team Lead
Sao Tome
Rosa Maria Neto Rodrigues - Team Lead
Sierra Leone
Francis Tamba - Team Lead
South Africa
Somayya Sarang - Team Lead
South Sudan
Robert Olemukan - Team Lead
Tanzania
Peter Mkama - Team Lead
Uganda
Dr Susan Nabadda - Team Lead
Zambia
Dr Aaron L. Shibemba - Team Lead
Zimbabwe
Agnes Juru - Team Lead

To request an invitation to join LabCoP’s communication hub please fill out the form below.