Month: Mar 2023

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COVID-19 self-testing at Georgia nursing home

FIND and the Georgian National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) have implemented a self-testing model to increase access to diagnostics for staff at high risk of exposure, including healthcare workers and staff at nursing homes. The model also is designed to reduce COVID-19 transmission in healthcare settings. 

This YouTube video, in Georgian with English sub-titles, describes the introduction of COVID-19 self-testing among nursing home staff in Georgia.

More than 100 nursing home staff and their household members across two nursing homes in Tbilisi and Kutaisi participated in this pilot programme.

It is an example of how optimization of COVID-19 self-testing service delivery strategies to different contexts and populations is key to reduce transmission and improve access to care.

Watch the video here

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Technical guidance and courses on COVID-19 offered by WHO

WHO has published guidance and advice to help governments, health professionals and the general public respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ranging across multiple areas and numerous countries, the common thread through the technical guidance is the need for governments to make informed decisions and to clearly communicate with their citizens. 

OpenWHO, WHO’s interactive, web-based platform, also offers online courses to people preparing to work in epidemics, pandemics and health emergencies, or who already doing so. It has courses on COVID-19 in many of the world’s most commonly spoken languages.

WHO strengthens public health laboratory systems throughout the health emergencies preparedness, readiness response and recovery cycle.

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COVID-19 Ag RDT training package for community healthcare workers

Street scene outside the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, Delhi.December 2017Photo credit: FIND / Ben Phillips

The SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid diagnostic test community health worker (SARS-CoV-2 Ag RDT CHW) training package is a structured, comprehensive collection of training resources and tools.

It aims to support institutions to organize, run and evaluate training of trainers and/or training of CHWs who will be performing SARS-CoV-2 testing using Ag RDTs.

The package can be used in face-to-face training or as a blend of remote face-to-face training. Materials can be adapted and customized based on national guidelines and participant target groups.

Training addresses the theoretical and practical components of SARS-CoV-2 Ag RDT testing and provides CHW trainees with the skills for, and resources on, how to safely perform SARS-CoV-2 Ag RDT tests. It does not intend to address the implementation of Ag RDT testing across the diagnostic network.

The materials for the training package are freely available to download, with links to material for facilitators provided in the document.

Access training package here

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Improving diagnostic data systems in Ecuador

Street scene outside the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, Delhi.December 2017Photo credit: FIND / Ben Phillips

This training report outlines a project to improve COVID-19 diagnostic data systems in Ecuador by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) project and FIND. 


The project was geared to improve diagnostic data systems by training programme staff and other COVID-19 data users involved in data management in health facilities. 

The COVID-19 Information Systems Strengthening workshop was held in venues across nine zones in Ecuador, spread across several provinces and in various cities.

In all the workshops, the attendees agreed that there was a need for decentralization in the

processing and visualization of information. 

With the view that national staff are better trained than the zone or district staff, participants also suggested the Ecuador Ministry of Health develop a training plan for technical personnel in the regions to update their knowledge.

Read more here

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CHAI-FIND project to improve COVID-19 diagnostic data systems

Street scene outside the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, Delhi.December 2017Photo credit: FIND / Ben Phillips

This training report outlines a project to improve COVID-19 diagnostic data systems, first in Rwanda and later in Ecuador, by the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) project and FIND. 

The project had three main workstreams:

  • Developing an analytical system
  • Integrating COVID-19 data systems with other relevant data systems
  • Upgrading and optimizing the COVID-19 data system.


The training report is geared to improve diagnostic data systems and automate approaches that were previously manual. 

The activity aimed to train programme staff and other COVID-19 data users involved in data management in health facilities. 

For those involved in the training, management and analysis of COVID-19 data has improved. The system is capable of inter-operating with other systems, leveraging COVID-19 data more effectively, and handling large amounts of data from multiple sources. 

The Rwanda Ministry of Health, in conjunction with CHAI-FIND and the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, has released a step-by-step guide to the training.

Read more here

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Rwanda study shows community health workers support digital tools and RDTs for COVID-19 testing

This Rwanda Biomedical Centre presentation, part of the second International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2022), assessed aspects of SARS-CoV-2 testing in Rwanda.

The study aimed specifically to evaluate how community health workers (CHWs) used antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag RDTs) alongside a clinical screening digital tool (e-ASCOV) at household level to test for COVID-19 at household level.

It selected 800 CHWs across eight districts in Rwanda to participate, asking them how they perceived their role in delivering care, as well as the experience of the clients.

Most participants (83.4%) reported that the e-ASCOV app was easy to use. Most (89.6%) also reported that nasal RDT was easy to administer, and the results easy to read.

Key findings

All the CHWs supported the use of digital tools and RDTs for COVID-19 testing. Most participants (83.4%) reported that the e-ASCOV app was easy to use. Most (89.6%) also reported that nasal RDT was easy to administer, and the results easy to read.

These results highlight that it is possible to implement COVID-19 testing at household-level, to support community-based surveillance for early case detection and management.

The study showed the potential to use similar digital tools for other diseases to support healthcare services delivery closer to the community, and for evidence-based decision making.

It also suggests that the programme needs to be scaled up to train other CHWs and extend the e-ASCov to malaria, TB, and other diseases.

Read more here

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Nairobi’s boda-boda riders take part in COVID-19 study

Health Poverty Action Visiting Hospitals at Kompong Chhnang & Battambong Province

This discussion brief for a FIND and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) dissemination meeting on May 2021 focused on the riders of bicycles and motorcycle taxis, commonly known as boda bodas, in Nairobi, Kenya.

The operational research study used digital solutions, in conjunction with Ag-RDTs, to support decentralized COVID-19 and TB testing and linkage to healthcare of the subjects. 

It aimed to:

  • Create demand for testing among boda-boda riders.
  • Identify potential cases of COVID-19 and TB using a digital screening tool and link them to testing and care.
  • Measure COVID-19 and TB positivity rates among boda-boda riders.
  • Evaluate the performance of the Ag-RDT against RT-PCR.
  • Assess the effectiveness of the digital tool for comprehensive data capture.

The study was implemented jointly by JKUAT and MoH, in four counties: Machakos, Kiambu, Nairobi and Kajiado. 

The Boda-Boda Safety Association of Kenya (BAK) played an indispensable role in demand creation, and digital messaging was also used for sensitization. 

A total of 5,663 boda-boda riders enrolled in the study, all of whom received a general medical check that included measuring blood pressure and blood sugar.

There was high demand for community-based testing services not only among riders, but also from passers-by.

Following digital screening for COVID-19 and TB symptoms, 4,946 participants were selected for COVID-19 testing, with 372 of these also tested for TB .

Significant findings

Notable findings include:

  • A high prevalence of non-communicable diseases, and a relatively low national health insurance coverage, with 42% of riders having elevated blood pressure, and 48% abnormal blood sugar.
  • An overall COVID-19 positivity rate of 1% was found among those tested with Ag-RDTs. Of the participants who also received a PCR test, the overall positivity rate was 5%. There were differences between the four counties.
  • Of those tested for TB, no cases of COVID-19 and TB co-infections were found. However, more than half the participants reported respiratory symptoms.

What are the recommendations?

  • There is strong interest in, and uptake of, diagnostic services at community level, which could be leveraged to expand access to testing.
  • Integration of COVID-19 screening with screening for other respiratory diseases, such as TB, can optimize the value of community-based testing.
  • Boda-boda riders should be a priority group for health interventions.
  • Digital solutions can enhance delivery of decentralized diagnosis.

Read full report here

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WHO webinar on genomic surveillance and SARS-CoV-2 sequencing capacity

In this webinar, WHO and FIND co-host a discussion on sequencing capacity for SARS-CoV-2 and global initiatives to strengthen genomic surveillance.

Co-chaired by Natacha Milhano, WHO Public Health Laboratory Strengthening Unit, and Dr Dhamari Naidoo, WHO South-East Asia, it featured the following speakers and topics:

  • Dr Lisa Carter: Genomic surveillance strategy for pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential
  • Dr Anita Suresh: Mapping and building genomic surveillance capacity for COVID-19 and beyond
  • Dr Senjuti Saha: Towards building capacity and accelerating genomic surveillance: one step at a time 
  • Dr Sikhulile Moyo: Pathogen genomics of SARS-CoV-2: Lessons from Botswana.

Participants shared learnings from the experiences of Botswana (Moyo) and Bangladesh (Saha) on building next generation sequencing capacity, and the global strategy launched by WHO on 31 March 2022 (Carter).

The presentation on 20 April 2022 was in English, with simultaneous interpretations in Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Watch the webinar on YouTube

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Enhancing response to Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant

WHO released this technical brief and guide to prioritize actions for member states in January 2022.

It aims to enhance response to the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant, designated by WHO as a variant of concern on 26 November 2021. Based on the information available, the overall risk related to Omicron was identified as being very high.

The brief is divided into three main sections:

  • An executive summary of key current technical information
  • Current evidence on Omicron
  • Priority actions for member states.

Previous versions of this technical brief are available on this link.

Read the full WHO brief here

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FIND partners with CSIR-IGIB to strengthen SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance in India

FIND has partnered with CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrated Biology) to help India fight COVID-19 by boosting sequencing capacity across the country. 

The partnership aims to decentralize genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 by setting up “MicroLabs”. These will enable sequencing, analysis and interpretation of sequencing data with minimal turnaround time and infrastructure limited settings.

The goal is to optimize and scale the capacity needed to identify SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) and variants of interest (VOI).

The partnership will also  identify genomic hotspots and mutations associated with disease severity that are critical for surveillance and public health action.

Read the report here