Recommendations for national sars-coV-2 testing strategies and diagnostic capacities

2.

 

Resourcing & funding 

The sustained resourcing and funding of the SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic network is a key priority in strengthening the national and 

subnational systems. The following steps can be undertaken to integrate expanded testing capacity into a national system: 

i.

 

Assess the current available budget within the national health authority (budget line); 

ii.

 

Identify domestic resources that can be leveraged towards COVID-19 testing in an integrated manner; 

iii.

 

Engage with financial and technical partners with available COVID-19 resources; 

iv.

 

Utilize the national laboratory response strategy to develop an operational plan with all items prioritized and budgeted, or 

mobilize/reassign existing pre-budgeted action plans (e.g. the National  Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS), if 

available); 

v.

 

Use the operational plan to advocate for increased funding from government and financial partners; 

vi.

 

Address sustainability and country ownership of the operational plan, defining an exit strategy for external support and 

funding. 

Critical resources required for a robust diagnostic network in addition to funding include a highly skilled and well-trained workforce, 

a coordinated supply chain, information management system and sample transport network. 

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Recommendations for national SARS-CoV-2 testing strategies and diagnostic capacities 

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