Global Health Systems Solutions (GHSS) staff and other partners have improved the management of Xpert-HIV qual 1 and Xpert HIV viral load test cartridges in Kongo, DR Congo. GHSS carried out the initiative in collaboration with the National Program for the Fight against HIV/AIDS (“Programme Nationale de Lutte Contre le SIDA-PNLS”) and its technical arm, the National Reference Laboratory for HIV/AIDS (“Labortoire National de Reference SIDA”).
The move falls within the framework of implementing the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) funded project to expand the coverage of the Early Infant Diagnosis/Viral load (EID/VL) Proficiency Testing program in Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, DR Congo and other countries. It also ensures the implementation of continuous quality improvement (CQI) for Early Infant Diagnosis Point of Care Testing (EIDPOCT).
As part of the project, sixteen POC testing personnel from eight (8) supported sites underwent comprehensive training on basic laboratory biosafety and biosecurity between December 6 and 13, 2023. This training has greatly enhanced the management of used waste cartridges in and out of the laboratories.
In April 2024, GHSS transported 950 kg of POC waste from the Kongo Centrale Province to a central incineration site in Kinshasa to support the high-temperature incineration of the used cartridges due to the province’s lack of a high-temperature incinerator. The beneficiaries have said the project has significantly improved their healthcare system, providing much-needed relief for them. GHSS and the LNRS national and provincial coordination teams, with funds from ASLM, have facilitated this activity.