Team Lead: RTCQI (2020 - Present)
Honors in Medical Laboratory Sciences (UZ)
MSc Epidemiology (UoL)
Biomedical Research and Training Institute Harare, Zimbabwe

Reggie has been the Lead Mentor for the RTCQI project with CLSI and now currently with BRTI. His day-to-day activities involve implementing RTCQI activities in collaboration with other implementing partners and local area MoHCC offices. In addition to leading the RTCQI team, Reggie is also directly assigned as a mentor to RTCQI sites in Harare, Masvingo and Matabeleland South province. Prior to his engagement with the RTCQI project, Reggie Mutetwa worked in laboratory quality improvement projects with the Biomedical Research and Training Institute and TB/HIV research. Reggie was also involved in developing and running the inaugural trainings of non-laboratory nurse HIV testers with the Zimbabwe Medical Laboratory Scientists Council and PSI, New Start centres.

“RTCQI is a very much needed program critical to ensuring correct and timely HIV results to clients. Reviewing the difference between a HIV testing site operations pre- and post-initiation on RTCQI has been eye opening and gives me conflicting emotions. I’m happy to see the positive changes, at the same time I’m weighed down thinking of all the other sites that are not yet initiated on RTCQI”.

RTCQI Mentor (2021 - Present)
Diploma in Nursing (United Bulawayo Hospital)
Diploma in Midwifery (Parirenyatwa School of Midwifery)
Honors Community and Health Psychology (UNISA)
MSc Midwifery Education (NUST)
Biomedical Research and Training Institute Harare, Zimbabwe

Chisina worked with CLSI as an RTCQI Mentor, and she is now currently RTCQI Program Officer with BRTI. Her day-to-day activities involve implementing RTCQI activities and working closely with district scientists in collaboration with clinical partners and MOHCC provincial teams and laboratory mentors. Chisina works directly with district mentors in Manicaland, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central provinces. Chisina is one of the CDC trained RTCQI Trainer of Trainers. Chisina's previous engagement in HIV programs in Zimbabwe include activities as a direct delivery/ Program Officer under different partners in and outside Zimbabwe, where she was assigned to work with clinics in the HIV/AIDS programs involving screening and management of opportunistic infections, viral load, and quality management systems as well as in general nursing.

“RTCQI gave me the “AHA” moment in my line of work as an HIV/AIDS program Nurse. I learnt a lot and it was easier to impact that knowledge to fellow nurses. Previously, there was low participation of nurses in EQA/PT program, but we saw a surge in numbers with the implementation of RTCQI. I saw a change in attitude of Primary counselors, nurses, lab personnel and even DNOs and In-charge nurses to that of embracing RTCQI and being eager to learn and improve the quality of the HIV rapid testing”.

RTCQI Mentor (2020 - Present)
Diploma in General Nursing
Biomedical Research and Training Institute Harare, Zimbabwe

Admire worked with CLSI as a National RTCQI Mentor from 2021 to September 2022 and is now currently with BRTI. He is involved in implementing RTCQI activities in collaboration with other implementing partners, local authorities and MoHCC offices for Mashonaland West and Midlands provinces. Admire has also worked as VMMC district coordinator (Kadoma)with ZiCHIRE and as District Mentor for Sanyati and Zvimba districts directly involved in HIV/AIDS and TB mentorship as well as CLI project with the Zimbabwe Technical Assistance, Training and Education Center for Health from 2016 - Present.

“RTCQI is an essential Programme in quality health delivery system, it Creates network of testers as they discuss day-to-day activities at POC testing sites. RTCQI assists health care service providers identify gaps in service delivery and assists in closing the gaps through mentorship. Through competency assessment, testers can now examine themselves on the way the provide quality testing services to clients to provide accurate results. RTCQI also assisted in scaling up use of standardized testing tools at selected testing points, hope to expand to all testing points RTCQI managed to bridge the gap between the lab and the clinical side by working together to improve on quality health service provision. Am so happy to realize growth in myself as a mentor on quality improvement and eager to continuously render support to the ministry so that we can achieve the best as a country.”

RTCQI Mentor (2021 - Present)
Diploma in Medical laboratory Sciences (UZ)
Biomedical Research and Training Institute Harare, Zimbabwe

Tony has worked with MoHCC as a District Medical Laboratory Scientist and National Rapid HIV Trainer of Trainer. He also worked with CLSI as a National RTCQI Mentor from 2021 to September 2022 and is currently with Biomedical Research and Training Institute as an RTCQI Project Officer and assigned to Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South provinces. As a District Laboratory Manager at Filabusi District Hospital he managed to improve LQMS to acquire 3 stars from ASLM audit in 2021 and has been heading HIV trainings nationally.

“Since the inception of RTCQI program in 2021 at selected HIV testing points, there has been a great quality improvement on testing skills by testers. The program has standardised all aspects of testing Nationally by availing SOPs and job aids during testing. The SPIRRT checklist used during assessments managed to identify gaps and impart knowledge to testers on how to issue an accurate and correct result to clients. The impact of RTCQI has been received overwhelmingly by testers as a tool that bridges the quality aspects between the Laboratory and testers during testing. It was a pleasure to be part of the pilot project which developed SOPs and job aids, as the RTCQI team focused on quality during Rapid HIV testing using the SPIRRT checklist”

District RTCQI Mentor (2021 - Present)
Honors in Medical Laboratory Sciences (UZ)
Biomedical Research and Training Institute Harare, Zimbabwe

Codessa has been the district mentor for Gweru District for the RTCQI project. She is currently a medical laboratory scientist stationed at Gweru Provincial Hospital Laboratory. Her day-to-day activities involve implementing RTCQI activities in collaboration with other implementing partners and local area MoH offices. She is currently the Deputy Quality Officer and has helped the laboratory attain and maintain its ISO accreditation status. Codessa is also the CLI laboratory coach and is involved in strengthening communication between the laboratory and the clinicians to improve patient management. She is also the District Focal Person for HIV proficiency testing in Gweru district and is actively involved in retraining HIV testers in the event of unsatisfactory results being obtained in the PT tests.

“Since the advent of RT-CQI activities in Gweru District there has been great improvement in how sites carryout HIV testing. This improvement has been greatly noted in PT schemes that have taken place after assessments and mentorship testers in Gweru are generally performing well. Great improvement has also been noted in how well sites are now performing in assessments done after the initial mentorship. Through RT-CQI, communication between the laboratory and the testers has been strengthened”

RTCQI Mentor (2020 - Present)
Specialist Diploma in Bacteriology (UZ)
Kwekwe General Hospital Kwekwe, Zimbabwe

Lilirose has been the RTCQI mentor for the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC). She is the laboratory head at Kwekwe General Hospital under MOHCC Midlands province and oversees implementation of RTCQI in surrounding district clinics.

“Quality of Rapid Tests at the sites selected under Kwekwe district has shown much improvement in their testing standards after the introduction of RTCQI”

District RTCQI Mentor (2021 - Present)
Diploma in Medical Laboratory Sciences (Zimbabwe College of Pathology)
Ministry of Health and Child Care
Murewa District, Mashonaland East

Siboniso has been the district mentor for the RTCQI project for Murewa district under the MoHCC. Her daily activities include implementation of RTCQI activities in collaboration with other supporting partners, BRTI and CLSI. Siboniso currently supports 5 sites in the Murewa namely Murewa District hospital OI, St Paul's Musami, Nhowe Mission hospital, Macheke clinic and polyclinic.

Prior to her engagement with the RTCQI project Siboniso was a laboratory Quality Officer and worked on several quality improvement projects, most recently being to improve pre-analytic turnaround time under Clinic Laboratory Interface (CLI). Siboniso is also the laboratory CLI coach. Siboniso has also been involved in training nurses and other non-laboratory cadres on viral load testing, covid-19 and malaria.

“RTCQI taught me that “People cannot fix a problem they don’t know they have, and the only way to notice a problem is if you can see it”, RTCQI was the much needed eye opener, opening people’s eyes to areas of improvement and this has benefited a lot of sites and hopefully continues improving quality of patient care”

District RTCQI Mentor (2021 - Present)
Diploma and Post Graduate Diploma in Medical Laboratory Sciences
Ministry of Health and Child Care
Mutasa District, Manicaland Province.

Patrick Simbi is the Mutasa District mentor for the RTCQI program which is being implemented by BRTI and CLSI. Patrick is currently mentoring 5 sites in Mutasa district which are Hauna District Hospital, Old Mutare Mission Hospital, Tsonzo Rural Hospital, St Peter’s Mandeya clinic and Hauna clinic. In addition to the RTCQI program, Patrick is a supervisor of health facilities in Mutasa District at D.H.E level since 2021. He has worked as Laboratory Manager for Hauna Hospital Lab since 2007.

“RTCQI introduction was overdue. Results from ANC HIV surveys have always indicated an unacceptable rate of wrong HIV diagnosis. I feel that RTCQI will improve the accuracy of HIV diagnosis at testing sights.”

RTCQI Mentor (2020-up - Present)
Certificate in Medical Laboratory Technician
Ministry of Health and Child Care
Gwanda District, Matebeleland Province

Keabetsoe has been the mentor for the RTCQI project with CLSI. His day-to-day activities involve implementing RTCQI activities in collaboration with other implementing partners and local area MoH offices. In addition to implementing the RTCQI activities in selected POC testing sites, Keabetsoe is stationed at Gwanda Provincial Hospital Laboratory as a government employee. Prior to his engagement with the RTCQI project, Keabetsoe has worked in medical laboratory and was also involved in running the trainings of non-laboratory nurse HIV testers with the Zimbabwe Medical laboratory Scientists Council and PSI, and other supporting partners in the MOHCC.

“RTCQI has brought a lot of impact to the rapid testing in POC sites as most of the sites are doing the testing according to standards as we now have testing procedures, SOPs, Safety procedures in place at rapid testing POC sites that have be engaged so far. These sites also have a better knowledge on RTCQI and how to maintain the standard in terms of Quality in Rapid testing”