LabCoP Resource Library - African Society for Laboratory Medicine

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.

ECHO Session Library

Please visit ASLM’s YouTube page to view past LabCoP Monthly ECHO sessions, Waste Management sessions, COVID-19 sessions, M&E sessions, LabCoP Extended series, and Diagnostic Network Optimisation sessions.

Events

Here you can find upcoming events that support laboratory medicine in Africa and around the world. Check back often and don’t miss notifications of these professional development opportunities!

Cookbook of Best Practices

LabCoP’s Cookbook is a downloadable set of considerations and best practice recipes shared by member country teams from across Africa. Available in both English and French!

LabCoP Newsletter

Read the latest issue or back issues of LabCoP Connect, LabCoP’s newsletter for connected country teams, ECHO Session summaries, and events.

Topical Resources

HIV Viral Load and EID

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Waste Management

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Tuberculosis Diagnostics

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Monitoring & Evaluation

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SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

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Diagnostic Network Optimisation

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Laboratory-Clinical Interface and Community Engagement

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More LabCoP Resources

ASLM’s Resource Centre hosts a variety of tools, guidelines, presentations and other resources that can help strengthen laboratory systems across Africa. A pre-filtered list of all resources related to ASLM’s LabCoP can be found on ASLM’s Resource Centre. To find a specific resource, visit ASLM’s Resource Centre and enter the resource name in the search bar.

Key HIV VL and EID Resources

HIV Viral Load Testing Cascade Self-Assessment Scorecard – This tool is used to identify critical gaps in a laboratory system’s VL testing service and help identify opportunities for improvement.
The HIV Laboratory Waste Cost Assessment Framework (WCAF) – The tool supports labs with a standardised format for forecasting waste disposal costs for HIV VL and EID.
The Laboratory African Regional Collaborative (LARC) Project Workbook This guide, published by The Laboratory African Regional Collaborative (LARC), project provides continuous quality improvement methodologies and tools.
HIV Molecular Diagnostics Toolkit to Improve Access to Viral Load Testing and Infant Diagnosis Published by WHO, this toolkit presents new and tried concepts for scaling up HIV viral load testing across settings.
WHO Guidance to Support HIV Care Models During the COVID-19 Era This WHO document provides guidance and considerations to allow for ongoing provision of HIV care services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
HIV Viral Load and Early Infant Diagnosis Scorecard – This tool, created by the US CDC helps facilities assess their diagnostic capabilities.

Explore more HIV VL and EID resources at ASLM’s Resource Centre, here.

Key Waste Management Resources

The HIV Laboratory Waste Cost Assessment Framework (WCAF) – this tool supports laboratories with a standardised format for forecasting waste disposal costs for HIV VL and EID to country level program managers for country operational plan planning.
Waste Management Training ECHO Sessions – These webinars provide training on proper waste management practices.

Explore more waste management resources at ASLM’s Resource Centre, here.

Key TB Diagnostics Resources

LabCoP Cookbook Recipe #6: How to Maintain HIV and Tuberculosis Testing Services During Health Emergencies – This recipe summarises key considerations and best practices that help should ensure continued delivery of essential diagnostic services for HIV and TB among other infectious diseases.

Explore more TB diagnostics resources at ASLM’s Resource Centre, here.

Key M&E Resources

Considerations for Developing a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Viral Load Scale-Up and Implementation – This guide, published by WHO, presents key considerations and examples of tools to assist countries in developing a national VL M&E plan.

Explore more M&E resources at ASLM’s Resource Centre, here.

Key SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Resources

Quality Assurance Framework for SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Testing for Diagnosis of COVID-19 – This framework aims to provide general technical guidance to African Union Members States on the rollout, establishment, implementation, and M&E of SARS-CoV-2 Ag RDT interventions so as to help detect, control and minimise errors in the performance of COVID-19 lab testing processes.
Guidance on Quality Assurance for COVID-19 Molecular Laboratory Testing – this guidance was compiled to help AU Member States and partners as they set up comprehensive quality assurance measures for COVID-19 testing laboratory networks.
LabCoP Cookbook Recipe #4: Decentralising COVID-19 PCR Capacity – The various strategies discussed in this recipe include governance and coordination planning, expansion measures, testing site selection, testing site installation, and routine testing operations monitoring.
LabCoP Cookbook Recipe #5: Quality Management System Considerations for COVID-19 Molecular Testing Labs – This recipe describes the critical elements that laboratories should put in place to rapidly identify and minimize the risk of lab errors in implementing testing for SARS-CoV-2, and defines the minimum QA requirements for NAAT testing.

Explore more SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 diagnostics resources at ASLM’s Resource Centre, here.

Key DNO Resources

Diagnostic Network Optimization (DNO) Objectives, Definition, and Key Principles and Approach – DNO aims to redesign the diagnostic network set-up in order to increase access, maximize impact, and generate efficiencies. This document outlines the DNO objectives, definition, and key principles and approach.
Integration Readiness Assessment Tool – This checklist, created by CHAI, evaluates and helps select the sites in a country where TB/HIV/HCV/HPV integration on the GeneXpert platform would be most feasible.
Assay Verification Tool – The tool is designed to help laboratories implement new tests, making it easier to design, setup, and analyse data generated as part of a new test procedure verification.
Considerations for Adoption and Use of Multi-Disease Testing Devices in Integrated Laboratory Networks – This document highlights issues related to: Government-led coordinated planning; regulatory approval and validation; product and site selection; integrated specimen referral systems; SOPs and trainings for end users; and more.
ASLM’s LabMap – The LabMaP project hosts a platform for the rapid collection, storage and analysis of geolocation information on laboratory capacity.
LabCoP Cookbook Recipe #1: Sample Transport
DNO ECHO Session library – Recordings of past ECHO sessions featuring presentations about DNO topics of interest

Explore more DNO resources at ASLM’s Resource Centre, here.

Key LCI and Engagement Resources

LabCoP Cookbook Recipe #2: Test Result Utilisation – This recipe includes considerations and best practices that can help your team improve viral load test result utilisation for patient management, and achieve better clinical and public health outcomes among people living with HIV.
LabCoP Cookbook Recipe #3: Demand Creation – This recipe includes considerations and best practices that can help a team raise awareness of viral load testing and promote its demand, and achieve better clinical and public health outcomes among people living with HIV.
ITPC Global Community Engagement toolkits – Toolkits to help community organisations that are planning to implement community-led monitoring (CLM). It provides an overview of CLM and steps for designing, implementing, running and resourcing it.