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BD/PEPFAR Annual Newsletter
About the BD/PEPFAR Collaborations | Lab Strengthening Highlights | Safer Blood Collection Highlights
Lab Strengthening Highlights
Greetings from the Lab Strengthening Director
Summary of Activities in FY 2010 (October 1, 2009 – September 30, 2010)
Behind the Scenes
Recognition
Featured Partner
A Look Ahead
This report highlights our lab strengthening activities in 2010. The BD/PEPFAR laboratory strengthening initiative in sub-Saharan Africa applies BD's knowledge, expertise and resources to expand and improve healthcare systems, build local capacity and improve patient care. Co-developed with the lab strengthening arm of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local on-the-ground partners, BD associate volunteers have conducted lab strengthening activities in sub-Saharan Africa since 2008.
Greetings from the Lab Strengthening Director
As we complete our third year as a PEPFAR collaborating partner, we are taking tremendous strides towards sustainable and replicable educational development and training. A few accomplishments are worth noting:
- We increased the number of deployments of selected BD associates to eight specific assignments in conjunction with in-country partners.
- We increased the rate of new curricula developed by adding Curriculum Development as a volunteer assignment.
- With our in-country partners, we co-facilitated planning meetings, mentored in Quality Management and Project Management, and conducted baseline laboratory assessments.
- At the African Centre for Integrated Laboratory Training (ACILT), in addition to training on TB Culture, we developed and taught a Leadership and Strategy Implementation module for the National Laboratory Strategic Planning course in Johannesburg.
- BD and PEPFAR co-sponsored a training-of-trainers course for Strengthening Laboratory Management Towards Accreditation (SLMTA)
- We developed and taught IT solutions to support the TB Specimen Referral Program in Uganda
Currently, we are making great progress in the development of a Specimen Referral Linkage System with EHNRI in Ethiopia and will be co-training at a new course at ACILT on TB Drug Susceptibility Testing.
All of our activities are designed to improve the quality of laboratories, create efficiencies and ensure that the proper support is in place so that patients receive timely and effective treatment.
We look forward to continuing our efforts, which have proven to benefit laboratory workers and managers.
Best regards,
Burt Houtz
Summary of Activities in FY 2010 (October 1, 2009 – September 30, 2010)
- Partnering with Mozambique Ministry of Health to facilitate Quality Management planning, and the implementation of project management and Quality Assurance practices.
- Developing Information Technology improvements to enhance specimen referral and result reporting in Uganda.
- Training TB Culture and Identification to 41 microbiologists representing 5 countries at the African Centre for Integrated Laboratory Training (ACILT) in South Africa. This year, 30 participants demonstrated an average improvement, pre- vs. post-testing, of 57% in their test scores.
- Conducting Leadership training at the National Laboratory Strategic Planning Workshop at ACILT in South Africa.
FY 2010 by the Numbers
2008-2010 Scale-up of BD/PEPFAR Programs
Input
Total hours put in by BD associates – 8025
Number of BD volunteers deployed – 14
Number of volunteer trips – 8
Value of services provided – $1,2M
Measurable success
Number of workshops taught – 10
Countries supported – 10
Number of healthcare professionals impacted – 89
Visible Successes
2008-2010 BD/PEPFAR Training
2010 BD/PEPFAR In-Country Workshops: Distribution of Participants by Topic
2010 BD/PEPFAR Lab Strengthening Program Overview
Financial Highlights
Behind the Scenes
“Hundreds of our labs and sample collection centers are located in remote areas and lack sophisticated equipment. Our international collaborators have helped us institute measures that will lead to long-term efficiencies in Uganda’s healthcare infrastructure.” - Moses Joloba, Head of the National TB Reference Laboratory in Uganda.
Tuberculosis (TB) is the most common cause of death among HIV-positive patients, but common TB diagnostics used in people living with HIV/AIDS are likely to produce incorrect results. Additionally, HIV/AIDS patients with Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) have a poorer outcome if management is delayed. In developing countries, such as Uganda, facilities capable of performing sensitive TB diagnostic tests and rapid MDR-TB tests are centralized to referral centers. The weak healthcare infrastructures – and the lack of trained personnel – make it hard to decentralize and improve access to advanced testing methods.
In response, Uganda’s National TB Reference Laboratory developed a referral system whereby laboratory and postal workers learn safe specimen packaging, transportation and delivery to the National Reference Laboratory. In conjunction with this initiative, BD and PEPFAR jointly introduced global positioning system (GPS) and geographical information system (GIS) technology to map TB microscopy sites and monitor laboratory quality improvements.
In 2010, with more than 900 collection sites mapped by multiple partners, the program helped ensure that more than 2000 patient samples reached the laboratory for testing – that’s 2000 patients with a much better opportunity to get an accurate diagnosis.
Additionally in 2010, through improvements in information technology and data management that BD has provided, Ugandan health officials can better manage specimen data and patient results. Through BD/PEPFAR’s Social Investing, training and technical support, servers and computer workstations are enabling data to be standardized and archived, and for patient results to be sent wirelessly to remote sites, improving both the quality of patient testing and the time it takes for the patient to be treated.
BD, Center for Disease Control-Mozambique, and the Mozambique Ministry of Health worked together to develop the assignment for the BD volunteers. While there, BD associates helped the Ministry to facilitate a Quality Management planning meeting in support of the country's National Laboratory Strategic Plan.
Additionally, QA Managers from BD offices in Brazil and Puerto Rico have made considerable progress towards improving Quality Systems implementation, laboratory assessments, and project management by the MoH in Mozambique through their facilitation and mentorship efforts.
“Proper diagnosis is the crucial first step to treating patients with TB. It feels good knowing that I contributed to the fight against TB by training microbiologists.” – Tiffany Koury, BD Volunteer
Tiffany Koury, BD Diagnostics – Diagnostic Systems, in Sparks, MD, volunteered at the African Centre for Integrated Laboratory Training (ACILT) in Johannesburg, South Africa with partners from National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), CDC-Atlanta and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
On March 24, 2010 (World TB Day), Tiffany and her group began teaching a comprehensive 10-day course on Growth and Detection of M. TB Complex. In conjunction with strategic partners, the course was both developed and continues to be taught by world-class TB trainers for microbiologists who travel to NICD from locations throughout Africa. Many of these microbiologists are leading technical resources for their countries; this training is essential to help them diagnose patients with TB more effectively.
Recognition
Testimonials
"Efforts to build country health systems are essential as we transition toward greater sustainability of HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care efforts and broader public health initiatives. We must support country-led efforts to plan and manage programs, deliver services and ultimately finance critical health programs. PEPFAR's collaboration with BD is supporting the development of this essential country capacity by strengthening health systems in the areas of human resources and laboratory services." - Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.
“In this era of limited resources, the global healthcare community must identify new and innovative ways to maximize existing resources to build sustainable capacity—the Public Private Partnership between PEPFAR and BD is one such approach that leverages existing resources, supporting PEPFAR’s transition from an emergency to sustainable mode.”
– Dr. Deborah Birx, Director, Division of Global HIV/AIDS, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
In the News
Public-Private Partnerships Strengthens Global Laboratory Systems
August 9, 2010
http://www.cdc.gov/globalaids/Success-Stories/BD-Public-Private-Partnership.html
BD and PEPFAR Collaboration Initiates Program to Improve Blood-Drawing Practices in Clinics and Hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa: Government of Kenya Takes Leading Role in Launch of Multi-Year, In-Service Training Program
June 21, 2010
http://bd.com/contentmanager/b_article.asp?Item_ID=25621&ContentType_ID=1&BusinessCode=20001&d=&s=press&dTitle=Press&dc=&dcTitle=
BD and PEPFAR Collaboration Initiates Program to Improve Blood-Drawing Practices in Clinics and Hospitals in Sub-Saharan Africa
June 21, 2010
http://www.gbcimpact.org/itcs_node/0/0/news/2646
Update on the BD/PEPFAR Lab Strengthening Partnership
June 2010
http://www.pepfar.gov/press/2010/142786.htm
BD Applauds PEPFAR’s Broadened Emphasis on Strengthening Health Systems
January 8, 2010
http://bd.com/contentmanager/b_article.asp?Item_ID=24359&ContentType_ID=1&BusinessCode=20001&d=&s=press&dTitle=Press&dc=&dcTitle=
The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal named BD’s Calin Yuan as one of the publication’s “2010 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley” for her lab training efforts as a PEPFAR volunteer.
April 8, 2010
Franklin Lakes Company On the Front Lines Battling Disease
December 6, 2009
Bergen Record
http://www.northjersey.com/news/On_the_front_lines_battling_disease.html
AIDS: On the Front Line
December 1, 2009
Fox Business News
On World AIDS Day, Krista Thompson, Vice President and General Manager, Global Health, BD appeared on Fox Business News and discussed the BD/PEPFAR collaboration as part of BD’s overall global health efforts.
African Laboratories Use Safer, High Quality Methods to Detect HIV
PEPFAR/BD partnerships trains lab technicians on latest equipment and techniques
November 30, 2009
Voice of America
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/central/pepfar-partnership-decapua-1dec09-78122697.html
Featured Partner
The Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) in Uganda has been a strong collaborator and implementing partner for the BD/PEPFAR Lab Strengthening Program. IDI’s focus is strengthening care and treatment of HIV and related infectious diseases – for people living with HIV across Africa. IDI facilitates this through offering high quality training for health workers; research on best practices related to HIV and TB in low resource settings; and advanced clinical services that support the development of new models of care. BD has actively supported IDI’s laboratory training programs through funding, curriculum, and scholarships. BD is also working with IDI towards the development of sustainability mechanisms to support laboratory systems in Uganda.
A Look Ahead
As countries move forward by improving healthcare services and expanding laboratory capabilities, BD/PEPFAR anticipates developing sustainable programs in many ways. We are contributing more resources to co-facilitate the National Laboratory Strategic Planning Workshop at ACILT in Johannesburg. We have developed processes to develop new curriculum, and have developed a specimen referral management workshop. We are working with CDC, Cooperative Agreement Partners, and Ministries of Health to support SLMTA implementation and laboratory accreditation. We offer educational opportunities in leadership, project management and quality management in addition to technical training. We look forward to another dynamic year working with ministries and their partners as we fulfill our quest by “Helping All People Live Healthy Lives.”