Cameroon - Transitioning to ISO 15189:2022 and National Essential Diagnostics List Development

National Essential Diagnostics List development – Cameroon, Gabon, and São Tomé e Príncipe

Date: March - July 2024

Location: Cameroon, Gabon, São Tomé e Príncipe

Client: African Society of Laboratory Medicine

Type of services:

Provided technical assistance to Cameroon, Gabon, and São Tomé e Príncipe in the development of their National Essential Diagnostics Lists (NEDLs) to strengthen diagnostic capacity for priority and outbreak-prone diseases.

Report(s):

[June 2024] DATOS is assisting Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Cameroon with development of a National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) for infectious diseases on behalf of the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM). The project, led by Dr. Krystina Ngou and Dr. DIALLO Samba, is implemented with logistics and administration support and country high level engagement from Resolve To Save Lives and with co-funding from FIND.

DATOS uses a data driven approach, which includes mapping of the countries’ disease landscapes and diagnostic systems, to ensure that the NEDLs cover the countries' most prevalent and high-burden infectious diseases. The NEDLs were developed using the World Health Organization Model List of Essential In Vitro Diagnostics as well as information from Africa CDC guidance and GLASS (Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System).

This month, DATOS is facilitating workshops with the country stakeholders to validate their first draft NEDL. Tjeerd Datema has assisted Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe with the validation of their NEDLs earlier this month.Linda Oskam is facilitating the validation workshop in Cameroon this week. This approach ensures that the NEDLs are optimally tailored to the countries’ disease landscapes and needs of the patients as well as disease surveillance priorities, and receive broad support from stakeholders across the diagnostic and health systems. The development of NEDLs for infectious diseases brings the countries one step closer to Universal Health Coverage and the implementation of the International Health Regulations.

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Training of Trainers on transitioning to ISO 15189:2022 and risk-based internal auditing

Date: November 2023 - January 2024

Location: Cameroon

Client: Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services

Type of services:

Designed and delivered a face-to-face training programme on transitioning to ISO 15189:2022, including risk assessment, risk management, internal auditing, and training-of-trainers components.

Report(s):

[January 2024] In the past two weeksLinda Oskam and Tjeerd Datema have provided a training of trainers course to fourteen laboratory scientists, quality officers, laboratory supervisors and directors in Cameroon transitioning to the new ISO 15189:2022 standard for quality in medical laboratories. DATOS provided this course on behalf of the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (CBCHS).

The course was provided as training of trainers to enable the participants to cascade this training down to their colleagues and peers in other laboratories in Cameroon.

The course focused on the key changes in the new ISO 15189:2022, on risk management, and a major element was focused on planning and conducting risk-based internal audits based on the new standard.

DATOS is grateful to the CBCHS Strengthening Public Health Laboratories System (SPHLS) project funded by CDC-PEPFAR for supporting this course and we thank CBCHS for excellent organization and logistics support. We wish the participants all the best with transitioning their laboratories to ISO 15189:2022 compliance and spreading their knowledge and experience to other laboratories in the country.

If you are interested in this course – don’t hesitate to contact us through LinkedIn.

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