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

http://www.euro.who.int/en/heal

th-topics/Health-

systems/laboratory-services

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