The overall aim of the EQAsia project is to improve the Quality of Bacteriology Diagnostics for Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AMR) in the Asian region. The EQAsia project is supported by the Fleming Fund (UK Aid Programme).
The project is split into two phases. In the first phase, which was conducted from January 2020 to August 2020, the aim was to map the coverage, availability and uptake of EQA programmes across One Health (OH) sectors in the South- and Southeast Asian region.
The mapping showed a considerable number of providers/programs in the region, which suggests some overlaps. Potential gaps in the content and comprehensiveness of individual programs may also be a contributing factor to why the National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) choose to participate in multiple programs. Based on these observations, the aim of the second phase of the project is to strengthen the provision of EQA services to NRLs/centers of excellence across OH sectors. This phase runs from October 2020 to February 2022.
To strengthen the EQA services, the project will offer a comprehensive EQA program over three rounds in 2021, which will cover all WHO GLASS pathogens. The EQAs will focus on both pathogen identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST).
The EQAs will be supported by training workshops, an IT module that enables instant reports as well as relevant follow up activities to underperforming laboratories.
Read more about the project in the flyer.