Post on 16-Jan-2017
Update on WHO
laboratory
strengthening
initiatives
Dr Pamela HeppleTechnical officer/Laboratory SpecialistBetter Labs for Better Health initiative
WHO Regional Office for Europe
13 October 2016ECDC, Stockholm
Presentation overview
• Better Labs for Better Health: overview
• Training courses and tools for laboratory quality systems implementation
• Mentoring project: activities and potential for collaboration
• Update on WHO Regional Committee technical briefing on health laboratory strengthening
• BLBH Partners meeting, Georgia, 01-02 December
Better Labs for Better Health benefits all labsCoordinated 3-pronged approach founded on policies and international standards (ISO) and guided by Health 2020 principles
1. National laboratory policies
and strategic plans
2. Improve national training
programs and implement
quality management systems
3. Upgrade critical infrastructure
(teaching laboratories, national
EQA programs, maintenance
and metrology units)
Rationale: Why a new initiative was needed• Current initiatives benefit mainly
“disease-specific” programs
• Services can be fragmented,
duplicated, lack standards and
oversight
• Poor quality and safety
• No initiative aimed at
improvement of whole lab
system
• Quality assured labs create trust
and contribute to IHR (2005)
Goal
Improve health by providing timely and accurate laboratory results from accredited labs that are
trusted by the user
http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/Health-systems/laboratory-services/quality-tools-and-training
and
Approach: Improve national training programs and implement quality management systems
Laboratory Quality Management System training toolkit (LQMS)/Laboratory Quality Stepwise Implementation tool (LQSI)
• LQSI training designed to implement LQMS toolkit
• 135 laboratory managers from 24countries in eastern and south eastern Europe trained since August 2014
LQSI training and mentoring
• Mentoring using LQSI tool for LQMS implementation
• Mentors are laboratory quality officers from ISO 15189-accredited laboratories who support national laboratories to implement LQMS During visits mentors can answer questions, help develop action plans, perform external audits and provide training
First mentoring mission, St. Petersburg
Biorisk management training
• Integral to LQMS and incorporated
in quality training
• WHO has developed several tools
and training courses in biosafety and
biosecurity:
– WHO laboratory biosafety manual
– training of trainers course in biorisk
management (BRM)
– Infectious Substances Shipment
Training (ISST)
– Film demonstrating safe practices in
different laboratory settings
• Training on BRM and ISST
conducted in ARM, GEO, KGZ,
MNE, TJK & UZB
Mentors• Twenty mentors trained in since
September 2015
• Advanced Mentors Course conducted in August 2016 for 7 active QMS mentors:
– Exchange of experiences
– Discussed improvements to the programme and indicators
– Training on technical aspects e.g. change management, auditing, ensuring follow-up of plans, etc.
Mentor training workshop, Copenhagen
Better Labs for Better Health
• Begun end of 2015
• 4 laboratories have
been mentored
• MAT, TJK and LTU
visits planned before
end 2016
The mentoring project
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
KGZ CQ KGZ RDC RUS LMV RUS Vector MAT MDH
WHO Regional Committee technical briefing on health laboratory strengthening, 14 September 2016
• Objective: advocacy for importance of
laboratory strengthening in the Region
• Presentation of the Better Labs for Better
Health initiative.
• The Russian Federation and Sweden
reported on their initiatives to improve
laboratory capacity to provide quick, reliable
results and their cooperation in making their
expertise available to other countries.
• Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reported on their
progress in improving laboratory quality,
through the Better Labs for Better Health
initiative.WHO Technical briefing, September 2016
BLBH Partners Meeting, Tbilisi, Georgia
Objectives
• Present results of “Better Labs for Better
Health” initiative
• Bring WHO guidance, tools and teaching
curricula in the area of laboratory quality and
laboratory system strengthening to the
attention of a wide audience
• Identify best practice models for public health
laboratory systems
• Provide a forum for countries to share
expertise
• Enhance interactions between countries,
partners and donors
WHO, EU, Member States, and external partners
invited
AcknowledgementsKYRGYZSTAN
TAJIKISTANREPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
UZBEKISTAN
Royal Tropical Institute
ECDC, US CDC, Global Fund/UNDP, USAID, Project HOPE, Fondation Mérieux, Public Health England, Robert Koch Institute, Gauting Supranational Reference Laboratory for TB
Photos: WHO
Thank you for your attention
This work is supported by the European Union (European Commission's Directorate-General for
International Cooperation and Development) as part of the project on strengthening health laboratories
to minimize potential biological risks (contract IFS/2013/332312)
Funding was also received under:
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GiZ)
• The Netherlands partnership programme on antimicrobial resistance
• The Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework
• The Russian Federation funding on the implementation of the IHR
• The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention