SHARE INDIA's Project LaQSH and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided technical assistance (TA) to the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), Government of India (GoI), for implementing Quality Management Systems (QMS) and Viral Load (VL) testing in India's National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) laboratories through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). We are working in the Focused Districts of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram to provide Free Access to Quality HIV-1 Viral Load Testing.
64 Public Sector Viral Load Laboratories 499 CD4 Laboratories 264 HIV Counseling & Testing Services
Developed National policies for Routine Viral Load Scale-up
Support NACP to harmonize laboratory network
Approaches to improve Viral Load coverage
Facilitate Quality Management Systems in HIV Counseling and Testing Services
Initiated Quality assurance procedures for community based screening
Technical Assistance for National Scale-Up of Routine Viral Load Testing
The project facilitated development of the national guidelines for HIV-1 viral load laboratory testing in 2018, which was launched by the Honorable Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda, Government of India.This immunological monitoring is for utilization by 540 ART centres and 64 viral load laboratories and to guide treatment options for nearly 1.3 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) in India.
Laboratory Clinical Interface (LCI) Training
As per the directive of NACO, the Laboratory Clinical Interface (LCI) training was facilitated by SHARE INDIA's Project LaQSH in collaboration with CDC and APSACS in Andhra Pradesh for the staff of Viral Load (VL) laboratories and linked ART centres. The training was conducted on a virtual platform from 15th to 22nd July 2020. The twenty-seven participants included the VL In-charges, Medical Officer, Technical Officers, Laboratory Technicians of Viral Load Laboratories, the Linked ART centres and Laboratory Service Division (LSD) of APSACS.
The objective of the LCI training was to orient the clinicians and laboratorians:
Introduction of standard QMS implementation tools resulted in the accreditation of 5 out of the 10 regional referral Laboratories in the public sector.
Developed capacity building modules and Training Programs
Technical assistance for step-wise quality management systems
The project developed two tools that help generate error-free data from the laboratories and help the SRLs and SACS to analyse the data and provide timely feedback to HCTS laboratories to improve quality:
HCTS QMS assessment tool: The HCTS QMS assessment tool is designed in Microsoft-Excel. This tool consists of five sheets that generate a site-wise assessment score, site-wise summary, site- and domain-wise final scores with star rating. It provides analysis tables for decision-making and for initiating action.
PT/RT data management system:This is a web-based tool to capture the data of PT-RT from the HCTS laboratories and transmit it to SRLs and feedback from SRLs to HCTS. Through this tool the SRLs, NRLs, SACS and NACO will be able to view and assess data on the status of PT-RT participation from the HCTS laboratories to understand whether issues of discordance are addressed and generate aggregated information in the dashboard.