Biography
Rita Iniobong Akpakpan is an assistant director and medical laboratory scientist at
NTBLCP. She has a master's degree in medical microbiology and an AMLSCN in
that field and has a great deal of experience drafting programming proposals and
managing TB and TB/HIV in the lab. She has coordinated and facilitated projects
such as AFB sputum smear microscopy, GeneXpert, and Culture, and has led
training sessions for USAID, TB Challenge, NACA, and DOD. She is a member of
the Coordinating Gene Xpert Advisory Team of the National Laboratory Technical
Working Group and has received training in a number of areas.
Key Impacts
A pilot study on external quality assessment using dried tube spot samples on the Truenat platform in Nigeria: Results and lessons learnt
This pilot study demonstrates that DTS-based EQA is a feasible and effective approach for performance monitoring of TrueNat-based molecular diagnostics in Nigeria. The high participation and result submission rates indicate strong engagement, while the observed failure rates highlight the need for continued training and support. Scaling up DTS-based EQA could enhance quality assurance in molecular testing programs, contributing to improved disease diagnosis and surveillance.
Source: Conference 2024