Medical laboratory personnel in Lesotho need training in quality assurance, recordkeeping, and safety procedures in order to carry out accurate laboratory testing that monitors patients with HIV/AIDS, a consultant for the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) reported today.

Barbara Chase McKinney, MD, FASCP, was reporting to ASCP officials on her recently completed three-week assessment of laboratory services in Lesotho. From June 19 through July 7, she visited laboratories in Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mohale’s Hoek, Mafeteng, Scott Hospital in Morija, and Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Maseru. Her findings will be used to develop a national training program for laboratory professionals in the poor, AIDS-stricken country that is uniquely situated within the borders of South Africa. “The challenge is to bring these laboratories up to 21st century standards as fast as possible, even before some basic infrastructure is securely in place,” McKinney said. “One of the highest priorities is to get the labs equipped and stocked to provide adequate support for HIV/AIDS care and treatment.”

McKinney performed the assessment on behalf of ASCP through the Society’s cooperative agreement with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in support of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. ASCP applauds the high profile international relief efforts that shine the spotlight on the AIDS crisis in Africa, such as former US President Bill Clinton and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, who visited Lesotho themselves this week to review relief work and assess needs. Such efforts have brought much-needed resources to the public health community, including rapid HIV test kits and molecular diagnostic equipment to medical laboratories.

“Some of the labs also need the basics—a refrigerator, chemistry and hematology analyzers, centrifuges,” McKinney said. “You can’t run the donated equipment without testing supplies.”

The most pressing problem for laboratory personnel is the need for a coordinated quality assurance program for rapid HIV testing. Other issues facing Lesotho laboratories include space constraints, non-functioning equipment, lack of basic equipment, repair and maintenance needs, inadequate documentation and records, as well as lack of safety policies and procedures.

Fortunately, medical laboratories in Lesotho are staffed with motivated, ambitious laboratory professionals who are dedicated to their work, extremely appreciative of the international attention and support, and eager for professional training, McKinney reported.

Among her numerous recommendations, she said that ASCP’s training programs at a minimum must address the need for standard operating procedures, improvements in documentation and recordkeeping, equipment maintenance logs, temperature monitoring for refrigerators that store samples, and equipment inventory and removal of unused equipment.

ASCP has conducted needs assessments and training programs for laboratory personnel in Tanzania and Ethiopia. Training programs are in the works for laboratory professionals in Kenya and Nairobi, and ASCP is discussing future training programs with officials in South Africa and Swaziland.