The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) International Health Regulations Strengthening Project (IHR-SP) is providing technical support to help Zambia establish its first locally produced microbiology External Quality Assessment (EQA) programme.

The National Health Research and Training Institute (NHRTI) in Zambia has been mandated by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to become the national hub for producing and distributing microbiology quality control materials as part of the 2024 EQA Grant for Africa (EQuAFRICA) project. This initiative is a major step towards enhancing the quality of microbiology testing nationwide, ensuring that laboratories across the country adhere to standards in microbiology diagnostic accuracy and consistently provide quality results for managing and detecting health threats.

Importantly, an established EQA programme will support Zambia’s compliance with the International Health Regulations (2005) core capabilities to detect and respond to pathogens of public health importance. Until now, Zambian laboratories have relied on external EQA providers, but these provide limited coverage across the nation due to high costs and logistical challenges.

In a collaborative effort with Zambia’s MoH, the Africa Society For Laboratory Medicine (ASLM), Africa Centre For Disease and Control (Africa CDC), Fleming Fund and UKHSA, capacity building for EQA provision at NHRTI commenced with a training workshop on the ISO 17043 standard - the international benchmark for the competency of proficiency testing providers. Shortly after the training, an assessment using the ISO 17043 standard was conducted to evaluate NHRTI’s readiness to become an EQA provider. These efforts aim to identify gaps and strengthen the foundation for a sustainable EQA programme in NTHRI. 

Part of the NHTRI Team working in EQA Lab With the Lab Manager

This latest activity builds on three years of collaboration between UKHSA IHR-SP and NHTRI. To date, IHR-SP has supported NTHRI through a series of capacity building activities including consultations, workshops and technical trainings covering a variety of topics to enhance detection of microorganisms, improve quality assurance and biosafety in the laboratory, and improve leadership skills.

NHTRI also contribute significantly to the national Microbiology mentorship programmes developed by IHR-SP, and lead on the facilitation of ongoing antimicrobial susceptibility studies across 30 facilities in Zambia, with technical support from IHR-SP.

UK technical support for NHTRI’s accreditation journey

UKHSA is continuing to support laboratory specialists from NHTRI through a peer-to-peer EQA learning exchange visit to gain hands-on experience with the UK’s National External Quality Assessment Service (UKNEQAS) at UKHSA’s laboratory facilities in Colindale, UK. This training aims to provide the technical expertise to design, distribute and evaluate performance of EQA to participating laboratories. It will also provide the NHRTI leadership with an opportunity to develop an action plan on the implementation mode and delivery timelines.

The establishment of local EQA production at NHRTI will represent a significant milestone in Zambia's journey toward laboratory self-reliance and improved health security across the region. IHR-SP will continue to provide technical support to NHRTI in its journey to accreditation.