Evaluation of the results of a UNITAID Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) health project in malaria affected countries.

Published :
Country : Global
Period : April – July 2018
Client : UNITAID
Donor : World Health Organization (WHO)

WHO recommends universal parasitological confirmation of all suspected malaria patients prior to treatment, which is dependent on the availability of high quality diagnosis at all levels of the health system. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are a key tool for routine malaria diagnosis. These portable, disposable tests are simple to use and do not require laboratory infrastructure. Since 2013, UNITAID has provided support to the Foundation for Innovative Diagnostics (FIND) to implement a project on sustainable global and national quality control of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (US$9.4 million grant) with the goal of establishing sustainable standards to ensure that quality malaria tests are increasingly used to support logical malaria treatment in endemic countries.

This project aims to develop improved and affordable quality standards and practices for malaria RDTs to support RDT quality control at two different points in the supply chain. The ACT for Performance team evaluated the project results against the initial objectives and targets, assessed the sustainability of the RDT quality process in the future, and provided realistic and pragmatic lessons learned and recommendations to introduce possible general and specific improvements.

UNITAID is a global health agency working to find innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases faster, more effectively and at lower cost in low and middle income countries