COVID-19 Testing in Africa: Lessons Learnt

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) has been on the front line of the response. ASLM has convened 19 special COVID-19 webinars as part of its Laboratory System Strengthening Community of Practice (LabCoP), reaching out to 12,777 participants from 106 countries around the world. The virtual meetings have gathered healthcare workers, policy makers, scientists, stakeholders and diagnostics manufacturers to exchange and discuss latest developments and best practices relevant to COVID-19 testing on the continent.

Slides, videos, guidance and Question & Answers of these sessions can be accessed here. ASLM also proudly assists Africa CDC in implementing COVID-19 diagnostics in African Union member states, as part of the Joint continental strategy for COVID-19 outbreak and through the mandate of the African Task Force for Coronavirus Response (AFTCOR).

In a new article published in Lancet, ASLM shares the lessons learnt so far from COVID-19 testing in Africa, and we provide recommendations to support the scale-up of COVID-19 testing in medical laboratory networks throughout Africa. Read the article here.