In FY 2010, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) will continue to work in coordination with the Rwandan Ministry of Health (MOH)and National Reference Laboratory (NRL) to carry-out capacity building activities, with primary emphasis on clinical microbiology laboratory capacity for HIV-related opportunistic infections (OI). Specific objectives of the program are: 1) Provide technical assistance to the NRL in microbiology and the surveillance of infectious disease outbreaks; 2) Support clinical microbiological services at select university and district hospitals; and 3) Strengthen pre-service, in-service, and continuing medical education in microbiology.

The ASM Laboratory Capacity Building Program's (LabCap) main emphasis is in transferring quality- assured laboratory diagnostic testing expertise to Rwandan laboratorians through human capacity development via training and mentoring. The end goal is to achieve sustained results and formulate a strong cadre of local Rwandan mentors to carry forward mentoring/training efforts post program completion. In FY 2010, ASM will extend its programs to university and district hospitals throughout the country. Moreover, ASM will synergize with other partners and the Kigali Health Institute to develop/improve pre-service training programs targeting the new generation of laboratorians.

ASM looks to synergize its activities with other USG partners through dialogue and integrating microbiology components into their efforts, thus better leveraging resources. Furthermore, ASM places great emphasis on gathering information on what other donors are doing, in order to prevent duplicating efforts, and uses already-developed resources when applicable, such as training materials and guidance documents, which ASM later customizes to better fit the environment and context. Finally, the major effort for this program is human capacity building which has as its end goal the complete transfer of expertise to a large number of local Rwandan microbiologists, eventually eliminating the need to send in external experts.

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plans: In FY 2009, ASM employed an M&E Specialist to develop program-specific quality indicators to better measure program impact. These same indicators will be shared with Rwanda, and they will be instructed on how to use them to continue to monitor the quality of microbiological testing. ASM, in coordination with the NRL, will continue to expand its technical assistance to the Rwandan public health laboratory network, with emphasis on clinical microbiology. The activities proposed by ASM for FY 2010 are outlined below:

Objective 1: Technical assistance (TA) to NRL ASM's TA to NRL aims to strengthen national external quality assurance (EQA) programs for microbiology and ensure NRL moves steadily toward WHO-AFRO accreditation. ASM will work with NRL

staff to develop a wok plan to improve and expand NRL's EQA activities including: • Training of EQA division personnel • Development of better data collection tools for lab assessments • Advising on human resource and laboratory infrastructure build-up to face an expansion of EQA programs

ASM will also support efforts to improve quality management systems in the laboratory, and facilitate the introduction of new diagnostic algorithms, SOPs, equipment and reagents. The ASM will develop with NRL staff a plan and budget to ensure the laboratory achieve WHO-AFRO accreditation by the end of FY 2010.

Objective 2: Support clinical microbiological services at select university and district hospitals ASM will provide on-site mentoring to lab staff at select regional laboratories, including Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Butare (CHUB), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali (CHUK), and the Rwamagana District Hospital in order to: • Improve technical competence of laboratorians • Introduce new diagnostic tests and algorithms for bacterial OIs • Advise on infrastructure, equipment and workflow improvements • Implement new QA/QC procedures

Objective 3: Strengthen pre-service, in-service, and continuing medical education for microbiology ASM will work with the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), Kigali Health Institute (KHI) and NRL to develop strategies to strengthen pre-service, in-service, and continuing medical education for microbiology. ASM will also provide educational resources to these institutions.

In FY 2010, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) will continue to work in coordination with the Rwandan Ministry of Health (MOH)and National Reference Laboratory (NRL) to carry-out capacity building activities, with primary emphasis on clinical microbiology laboratory capacity for HIV-related opportunistic infections (OI). Specific objectives of the program are: 1) Provide technical assistance to the NRL in microbiology and the surveillance of infectious disease outbreaks; 2) Support clinical microbiological services at select university and district hospitals; and 3) Strengthen pre-service, in-service, and continuing medical education in microbiology.

The ASM Laboratory Capacity Building Program's (LabCap) main emphasis is in transferring quality- assured laboratory diagnostic testing expertise to Rwandan laboratorians through human capacity development via training and mentoring. The end goal is to achieve sustained results and formulate a strong cadre of local Rwandan mentors to carry forward mentoring/training efforts post program completion. In FY 2010, ASM will extend its programs to university and district hospitals throughout the country. Moreover, ASM will synergize with other partners and the Kigali Health Institute to develop/improve pre-service training programs targeting the new generation of laboratorians.

ASM looks to synergize its activities with other USG partners through dialogue and integrating microbiology components into their efforts, thus better leveraging resources. Furthermore, ASM places great emphasis on gathering information on what other donors are doing, in order to prevent duplicating efforts, and uses already-developed resources when applicable, such as training materials and guidance documents, which ASM later customizes to better fit the environment and context. Finally, the major effort for this program is human capacity building which has as its end goal the complete transfer of expertise to a large number of local Rwandan microbiologists, eventually eliminating the need to send in external experts.

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plans: In FY 2009, ASM employed an M&E Specialist to develop program-specific quality indicators to better measure program impact. These same indicators will be shared with Rwanda, and they will be instructed on how to use them to continue to monitor the quality of microbiological testing. ASM, in coordination

with the NRL, will continue to expand its technical assistance to the Rwandan public health laboratory network, with emphasis on clinical microbiology. The activities proposed by ASM for FY 2010 are outlined below:

Objective 1: Technical assistance (TA) to NRL ASM's TA to NRL aims to strengthen national external quality assurance (EQA) programs for microbiology and ensure NRL moves steadily toward WHO-AFRO accreditation. ASM will work with NRL staff to develop a wok plan to improve and expand NRL's EQA activities including: • Training of EQA division personnel • Development of better data collection tools for lab assessments • Advising on human resource and laboratory infrastructure build-up to face an expansion of EQA programs

ASM will also support efforts to improve quality management systems in the laboratory, and facilitate the introduction of new diagnostic algorithms, SOPs, equipment and reagents. The ASM will develop with NRL staff a plan and budget to ensure the laboratory achieve WHO-AFRO accreditation by the end of FY 2010.

Objective 2: Support clinical microbiological services at select university and district hospitals ASM will provide on-site mentoring to lab staff at select regional laboratories, including Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Butare (CHUB), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali (CHUK), and the Rwamagana District Hospital in order to: • Improve technical competence of laboratorians • Introduce new diagnostic tests and algorithms for bacterial OIs • Advise on infrastructure, equipment and workflow improvements • Implement new QA/QC procedures

Objective 3: Strengthen pre-service, in-service, and continuing medical education for microbiology ASM will work with the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), Kigali Health Institute (KHI) and NRL to develop strategies to strengthen pre-service, in-service, and continuing medical education for microbiology. ASM will also provide educational resources to these institutions.