Context
The Mérieux Foundation takes a network-based approach to support laboratories in Madagascar and thus contribute to improving biological diagnosis for the population and the epidemiological surveillance based on laboratories. This approach allows laboratories to share their equipment and knowledge, but also to become autonomous in the realization of their activities.
Certain labs in Madagascar lack sufficient equipment and personnel to perform basic analyses in line with good practices.
The Mérieux Foundation supports the laboratory network of Madagascar, RESAMAD, to train personnel and improve the quality of care for patients.
Aims
Provide technical support to set up biomedical analyses for the diagnosis and surveillance of infectious diseases in public hospitals in Madagascar.
Activities
- Renovate the laboratories participating in this project, which was launched in 2007;
- Equip the labs with sufficient reagents and supplies;
- Put in place new microbiology analyses;
- Support epidemiological surveillance;
- Provide training for technicians and laboratory biologists;
- Set up a quality assurance system;
- Organize committees for laboratory management;
- Organize of specialized workshops on antibiotic resistance in about 15 laboratories strengthened in microbiology;
- Set up and support the monthly steering committee of the network.
Achievements
The RESAMAD network has 27 public and private hospital laboratories covering all of Madagascar’s 22 regions. Members share expertise, harmonize practices, pool equipment orders and benefit from a support in reagents, supplies and equipment, training, external quality control and biannual workshops.
13 of these laboratories have been strengthened to perform specialized microbiology testing and some are participating in research projects on antimicrobial resistance. They thus improve patient care and contribute to the biological and epidemiological surveillance of AMR. They collaborate with the Department of Health Watch, Epidemiological Surveillance and Response (DVSSER) to contribute data to the WHO’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS).
An experience capitalization exercise conducted in 2021 with the network and its partners highlighted contributions of the network to laboratory professionals, patient care and public health.
Partners
Operational:
- Laboratory Development Department / Directorate of Pharmacy, Laboratories and Traditional Medicine of the Ministry of Public Health
- Charles Mérieux Center for Infectious Disease
- Indian Ocean Commission
- Biologie sans frontières
- Institut Pasteur of Madagascar
Funders:
- Agence Française de Développement
- Fondation Christophe & Rodolphe Mérieux
- USAID through Population Services International
- University of Oxford
- USAID Infectious Disease Detection and Surveillance (IDDS)
- World Health Organization