URC currently implements laboratory quality improvement in Nigeria, Swaziland, Uganda, Tanzania, and Cote d'Ivoire. Through CDC-funded PEPFAR programs in Nigeria and Swaziland, URC is upgrading equipment and training for all HIV testing techniques as well as establishing processes and procedures for laboratory safety and quality assurance/quality control schemes.

Through HCI, URC is collaborating with USAID and the Uganda MOH Quality of Care Initiative, and with the MOH in both Tanzania and Cote d'Ivoire to improve the quality of HIV/AIDS lab services. CDC also funds our work in Cote d'Ivoire to develop a countrywide WHO laboratory accreditation program.

Working with lab and health facility staff for an integrated approach, URC carries out detailed laboratory quality assessments that identify areas for improvement and introduces lab-related quality improvement activities, including ongoing monitoring of lab-specific quality indicators. Preliminary findings indicate as many as 40% of clients referred for HIV testing do not receive definitive results from their tests, so the project is focusing on increasing the number of clients receiving results.