WHO Ukraine and the WHO Supranational Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory in Gauting, Germany, have joined forces to bolster Ukraine's national network of tuberculosis (TB) laboratories by monitoring drug resistance and improving access to quality TB diagnostic methods.
In the WHO European Region, Ukraine is a high-priority country for controlling TB and is one of only nine countries worldwide with a high incidence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). Effective treatment of both TB and MDR-TB is essential and can be accomplished through rapid diagnosis where WHO-approved rapid TB diagnostic tools and reliable drug susceptibility tests are available for all patients showing TB symptoms.
Expert review
Between July and August 2023, a WHO expert mission, financially backed by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, took place in Ukraine to thoroughly evaluate regional TB laboratories. This included introducing new rapid diagnostic methods, assessing the quality of existing diagnostic services, assisting laboratories in preparing for international accreditation to ISO 15189 standards and providing training to build capacity.
Despite the enormous challenges posed by ongoing conflict and frequent attacks on health-care infrastructure, the international expert praised the efforts of Ukraine's national TB programme and the laboratory personnel working on the front lines.
"Ukraine's lab services for TB have significantly modernized in recent years. Even amidst war, the labs continue to adopt the latest technologies for rapid and dependable TB diagnosis," said Evgeni Sahalchyk, a specialist from the WHO Supranational Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory.
Next steps
The team visited the Public Health Centre's Reference Laboratory for diagnosing TB and other high-risk pathogens, as well as regional TB labs in Kyiv and the Khmelnytsky region.
After the mission, the following key priorities were identified for advancing TB diagnostics in Ukraine and further developing lab capacity.
- Support the national TB programme and the Public Health Centre's Reference Laboratory by implementing WHO guidelines for TB diagnosis, as well as standardized record-keeping and reporting systems.
- Offer technical guidance on meeting biosafety requirements and implementing quality management systems.
- Conduct external quality assessments and assist in implementing internal quality controls for microbiological TB diagnostic methods to ensure data reliability.
- Strengthen the human resources capabilities of the laboratory services dealing with TB.
- Help prepare strategic plans for labs and assist in their accreditation to ISO 15189 standards.
Continued backing from WHO and the WHO Supranational Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory remains crucial, especially during wartime. This support will be even more vital during the post-war recovery phase as Ukraine aims not just to rebuild its shattered health-care infrastructure, but to create an even stronger and more resilient health system.