MJAP supports the provision of quality laboratory services in the partner institutions through mentoring and coaching of laboratory staff in good laboratory practices, conducting internal and external quality assurance and quality control and support supervision of laboratory staff.

We aim at strengthening our internal quality control system; to date, there are weekly inter-laboratory controls with partner labs such as Baylor Uganda, Butabika Hospital and Kiruddu Hospital.

Laboratory Quality Management Systems:

MJAP supports the implementation of laboratory quality management systems (LQMS) at the supported facilities. We conduct onsite mentorships focusing on the 12 Quality System Essentials (QSEs) in the LQMS framework.

This support was is provided to all the facilities, while the facilities enrolled under the SLIPTA/SLMTA program for laboratory receive SLIPTA/SLMTA-tailored support.

The laboratories also implement quality improvement (QI) initiatives to continually improve services to their clients.

• We support the provision of HIV monitoring and related tests including Complete Blood Count (CBC), Biochemistry (through referral), and Urine TB LAM for TB diagnosis, Serum CRAG and GeneXpert TB testing. Specimens that require specialized equipment are referred to the respective reference laboratories. These include specimens for the following tests: HIV drug resistance testing, viral load testing, DNA PDR for Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) of HIV.

External Quality Assurance (EQA):

• To ensure that the laboratories we support meet the required quality standards, MJAP supports the facilities to participate in external quality assurance (EQA) for several tests to compare their results to other credible laboratories.

Laboratory Supplies Management

MJAP supports strengthening of health facilities’ stock management practices to ensure adequate amounts of supplies are available for testing, and will not expire before use.

Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS):

We work with partner facilities to ensure the electronic relay and printing of results from the Central Public Health Laboratories (CPHL) to the supported facilities by availing internet connectivity that is required to download the online results. Electronic printing eliminates the need for printing at CPHL, which would require a rider to deliver the results to the facilities.