id	author	title	date	pages	extension	mime	words	sentences	flesch	summary	cache	txt
cord-309509-ftwpys3y	Ondoa, Pascale	COVID-19 testing in Africa: lessons learnt	2020-07-03		.txt	text/plain	1107	55	40	AFTCOR has led COVID-19 testing capacity scale-up as one of the key objectives under the Africa joint continental strategy for COVID-19 outbreak. 2 The Africa CDC Pathogen Genomics Intelligence Institute, which is also part of the joint continental COVID-19 strategy, provides training and resources to 16 AU member states to generate up to 2500 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences and will enable the submission of these sequences to the Global Initiative on Sharing all Influenza Data platform. PCR testing platforms' footprint within national disease control programmes, and the private and animal laboratory sectors offer an opportunity to make use of free testing capacity and sample referral routes for COVID-19 diagnostics. To address these challenges, Africa CDC launched the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing on request from AU heads of states, with the following key strategic areas: (1) organising all AU member states as one large customer and coordinating the continuous supply of test kits and commodities at a negotiated price and based on accurate forecast of needs; (2) decentralising COVID-19 testing through strategic planning that can guarantee laboratory quality, biosafety, and the establishment of robust sample referral systems; e104	./cache/cord-309509-ftwpys3y.txt	./txt/cord-309509-ftwpys3y.txt