HIV effort let down by test shortages, says WHO
BBC - "A shortage of HIV testing could undermine global efforts to diagnose and treat people with the infection, warn experts from the World Health Organization.
They looked at responses to annual surveys that the WHO had sent to 127 countries between 2012 and 2014 asking about capacity and usage of blood tests that check HIV status and health and found worrying gaps in provision. (...)
Reasons for the gaps in provision included lack of reagents, equipment not being installed or maintained properly and inadequate or absent staff training. In some laboratories, machines were not serviced regularly. In others, machines broke down and were not covered by contracts to be serviced or fixed.(...) "Strong leadership, resources, planning, and management are needed to scale up laboratory services," they conclude." (Photo: Hakan Dahlström/flickr)