Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2012 2013 2014

Details for Mechanism ID: 14261
Country/Region: Cambodia
Year: 2012
Main Partner: Ministry of Public Health - Thailand
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: Host Country Government Agency
Funding Agency: HHS/CDC
Total Funding: $108,000

Goals and Objectives. This Cooperative Agreement will improve the quality of laboratory testing for diagnosing and monitoring treatment for opportunistic infections and HIV in Cambodia. Specific objectives are: 1) assist laboratories to become accredited under the national plan; and 2) ensure quality CD4 testing through regular proficiency testing.

Target Populations and Geographic Coverage. People living with HIV who are served by laboratories supported by PEPFAR (Phnom Penh and Battambang reference laboratories and hospital laboratories in Palin, Pursat, Battambang and Banteay Meanchey provinces) will benefit from this program.

Transition to Government Partners. Technical experts from the Ministry of Public Health, Thailand (Thai-MOHP) will provide technical assistance to Cambodian government laboratory staff responsible for laboratory quality assurance. Capacity to prepare CD4 panels for proficiency testing will be transferred to the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) laboratory in the same manner that capacity to develop panels and manage the external quality control system for HIV testing is being transferred from the Thai-MOPH to NIPH.Monitoring and Evaluation. Progress on accreditation will be monitored by the Cambodian laboratory technical working group. CD4 proficiency test results of laboratories will be analyzed and site-visits or refresher training programs planned in order to correct problems. Trip reports and recommendations made by the technical experts from the Thai-MOPH will be reviewed by CDC. Joint site visits will be made by Thai-MOPH technical experts, NIPH staff, and CDC to monitor progress.

Global Fund / Programmatic Engagement Questions

1. Is the Prime Partner of this mechanism also a Global Fund principal or sub-recipient, and/or does this mechanism support Global Fund grant implementation? Yes2. Is this partner also a Global Fund principal or sub-recipient? Principal Recipient3. What activities does this partner undertake to support global fund implementation or governance?(No data provided.)

Funding for Laboratory Infrastructure (HLAB): $108,000

The National Strategy for Laboratories in Cambodia details a plan for a phased approach to accreditation. PEPFAR is supporting this through Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA) and other quality control activities. Under this cooperative agreement, technical experts from the Thailand Ministry of Public Health (Thai-MOPH) will mentor Cambodian laboratory directors from provincial and district hospitals and the national public health and reference laboratories to assist them to prepare and implement activities in the Cambodian plan of action for accreditation.

Specifically, the technical experts will:

1) Assist the National Institute for Public Health (NIPH) refine and implement the plan of action for accreditation of the NIPH laboratory,2) Conduct training programs and support laboratory assessments for the SLMTA process,3) Assist NIPH implement regional microbiology inter-laboratory comparison schemes to improve quality of opportunistic infections diagnosis,4) Identify gaps in quality control for biochemistry, including pipette calibration, in provincial laboratories supported by the U.S. government,5) Provide proficiency panels to U.S. government-supported laboratories carrying out CD4 testing.

A transition plan for CD4 proficiency testing to the Cambodian Ministry of Health will be developed by the Thai-MOPH in collaboration with CDC and the national laboratory technical working group.

Cross Cutting Budget Categories and Known Amounts Total: $25,000
Human Resources for Health $25,000