December 3, 2016 - December 8, 2016

2016 African Society for Laboratory Medicine Conference (ASLM)

Conference Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Conference Website: http://aslm2016.org/

ASLM2016 was the third biennial international conference of the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM). The conference aimed to serve as a platform for the international laboratory medicine community to share best practices, acquire knowledge and debate innovative approaches for combatting global health threats.

The focus areas for the conference were:

  • Provide information on the laboratory medicine landscape and needs in Africa
  • Increase awareness of opportunities to invest in laboratory medicine amongst private, public and philanthropic donors
  • Facilitate networking among participants, particularly for newcomers to African healthcare settings and markets
  • Promote the creation of public-private partnerships to ensure further development of both African laboratories and African diagnostics companies

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) presented four posters and co-organized a joint satellite symposium on Implementing Point-of-Care (POC) Technologies for Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) of HIV with UNITAID, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), UNICEF, Médcins Sans Frontières (MSF), the EID Consortium as well as the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

EGPAF’s poster presentations focused on integrating point-of-care technologies into national Early Infant Diagnostics (EID) networks across nine countries where the UNITAID-funded project is active.

While coverage of conventional, laboratory-based early infant diagnosis of HIV (EID) has increased in recent years, access to effective testing could be greatly expanded through the integration of point-of-care testing into national EID networks. Point-of-care (POC) testing has been shown to significantly reduce turnaround times between sample collection and return of test results, and to increase treatment initiation rates. Without early diagnosis and treatment, up to 30% of HIV-infected infants will die before they reach their first birthday.

This symposium focused on lessons learned from pilots and early programmatic experiences that aim to integrate new technologies into existing diagnostic systems, including approaches to strategically select the right facilities and products for POC EID, to plan pilot activities, and to conduct POC EID training programs.

Satellites and Workshops

Updates from the EID Consortium network: field evaluation and moving towards implementation
Speaker(s): Dr. Sergio Carmona, NHLS, South Africa & Dr. Catherine Wedderburn, LSHTM, UK
Lessons from implementing a POC EID end-user training and mentorship program
Speaker(s): Reuben Mwenda, MOH-HTS, Malawi
Bringing a new POC EID technology into the national system
Speaker(s): Adolfo Vubil, Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Mozambique
Stepwise Approach to site and platform selection, and site preparation towards readiness for POC EID introduction in 9 countries
Speaker(s): Jeff Lemaire, EGPAF, Switzerland
Strategic product and site selection for POC platforms: Experience using an excel-based tool for decision making
Speaker(s): Raiva Simbi, Laboratory Services, Zimbabwe
Implementation challenges of POC EID in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Malawi
Speaker(s): Zee Ndlovu, MSF-SAMU
Monitoring performance of the POC EID cascade and implementation of supportive site supervision
Speaker(s): Anafi Mataka, EGPAF, Lesotho
Joint supplier engagement for accelerated POC EID market entry and sustainable pricing
Speaker(s): Jackson Hungu, POC EID Procurement Consortium, Kenya
Remote monitoring of POC device performance using wireless connectivity
Speaker(s): Dr. David Kob, CNLS, Cameroon
Multi-country analysis of Alere Pima error rates and device error codes
Speaker(s): Katie Pollak, CHAI, USA
Improving access to quality diagnosis through TB/HIV integration on GeneXpert
Speaker(s): Jeremiah Okari, National TB Program, Kenya & Nancy Bowen, National Reference Lab, Kenya

Poster Presentations

Integrating point-of-care technologies into national early infant diagnosis networks: choice of sites for platform placement
Date: December 9, 2016
Author(s): Jennifer Cohn (1 & 2), Jean-François Lemaire** (1), Rebecca Bailey (1), Francesca Celletti (1) 1 - Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation; 2 - University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
Capacity of Potential Point-of-Care Early Infant Diagnosis Pilot Sites: Findings from Site Assessments in Lesotho
Date: December 9, 2016
Author(s): Anafi Mataka (1), Esther A.J. Tumbare (1), Tsietso Motsoane (2), David Holtzman (1), Monkoe Leqheka (2), Kolisang Phatsoane (2), Appolinaire Tiam (1), Anthony Isavwa (1) 1 - Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Lesotho, 2 - Laboratory Services, Ministry Of Health, Maseru, Lesotho |
Site Selection Approach to Optimizing Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) Networks with Point-of-Care EID Platforms
Date: December 9, 2016
Author(s): Anafi Mataka (1), Esther A.J. Tumbare (1), Tsietso Motsoane (2), David Holtzman (1), Monkoe Leqheka (2), Kolisang Phatsoane (2), Appolinaire Tiam (1), Anthony Isavwa (1) 1 - Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Lesotho, 2 - Laboratory Services, Ministry Of Health, Maseru, Lesotho
Assessment of the Quality Management Systems in Potential Point-of-Care Early Infant Diagnosis Sites: Baseline Findings
Date: December 9, 2016
Author(s): Anafi Mataka (1) , Esther A.J. Tumbare (1), Tsietso Motsoane (2) , David Holtzman (1) , Monkoe Leqheka (2) , Kolisang Phatsoane (2), Appolinaire Tiam (1), Anthony Isavwa (1) 1 - Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Lesotho, 2 - Laboratory Services, Ministry Of Health, Maseru, Lesotho