Recent Activities - 2016

February 2016: NRL Myanmar Project

In February 2016, NRL was awarded a sub-contract by the Foundation of Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), to strengthen the laboratory system in Myanmar through training and quality management system implementation. FIND is a charitable foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, whose mission is to support the development and deployment of accurate and affordable diagnostic tests for poverty-related diseases for developing countries. NRL’s sub-contract with FIND is part of a Cooperative Agreement that FIND has with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Building Global Capacity for Diagnostic Testing of Tuberculosis, Malaria, and HIV through Laboratory Strengthening and Integration of Services”, and which falls under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Under the sub-contract, NRL will be responsible for:-

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(i) Exploring the expansion of HIV-related molecular testing to support scale-up of viral load and early infant diagnosis (EID) testing;

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(ii) Developing guidance documents and training tools for all levels of the laboratory network in Myanmar

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(iii) Supporting activities related to quality management and continuous quality improvement;

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(iv) Supporting ongoing quality assurance including strengthening the National Health Laboratory, Yangon’s capacity for providing external quality assessment schemes for HIV rapid tests, CD4, viral load, haematology and clinical chemistry, as well as conducting monitoring visits to various sites

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NRL’s first visit to Myanmar under this sub-contract is scheduled to take place from 14 – 25 March 2016.