Technical Report Fourth Round 2014-2015 External Quality Assurance Program For Malaria Microscopic Diagnosis

Abstract

[Introduction] One of the goals from the Pan American Health Organization Strategy and Action Plan for Malaria (2011-2015) is to ensure access to early diagnosis and prompt, effective treatment. Implementation of policies which ensure effective treatment is based on the existence of a healthcare system that offers prompt access to reliable (precise and accurate) diagnosis for better surveillance, prevention, and control of malaria in the Americas. The program for external quality evaluation has been developed because of the need for national reference laboratories to have an External Quality Assurance Program (EQAP), to contribute to the improvement of microscopic diagnosis of malaria. This effort will not only improve malaria diagnosis at the reference center level, but shall also allow the transfer of skills and the upgrading of resources at the country level. Technical work in a laboratory should always be subject to constant supervision using quality control procedures. Such supervision is not possible without quality control which allows for evaluation of the work done by the laboratories. Success in the face of new challenges in improving the efficiency of public health response will partly depend on the quality and performance of the LABORATORY NETWORKS.