In Delta State, Excellence Community Education Welfare Scheme (ECEWS), through the United States Centers for Disease Control (US CDC) funded Sustainable Programs for HIV Epidemic Control and Service Delivery (SPEED) Project, has completed the Fiscal Year 2026 Cycle with production of Dried Tube Specimen (DTS) panels for HIV Serology External Quality Assessment–Proficiency Testing (EQA-PT), reinforcing laboratory quality systems across Delta State. 

The production exercise ran mid FY26Q3, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Hospital, Asaba, led by the ECEWS Delta State SPEED laboratory team in collaboration with the HQ Laboratory team, in line with National Proficiency Testing and organizational Laboratory Quality Assurance policies. 

ECEWS supports 61 facility-based HIV rapid testing sites and 27 Community Outreach Provider Point (COPP) teams across Delta State. DTS technology offers a cost-effective, cold-chain-free method for monitoring tester performance and validating HIV rapid testing accuracy, which is critical for maintaining reliable diagnostic services at scale. 

The Delta State Quality Assurance Team (SQAT) worked alongside ECEWS staff throughout the exercise, gaining hands-on experience in DTS production protocols, laboratory safety, and Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) standards, marking a step toward greater state ownership of quality assurance systems. 

The exercise produced 305 HIV Serology Proficiency Testing panels and 1,408 HIV Serology Quality Control panels. Each testing package included instruction sheets, job aids, result reporting forms, five PT panel vials, and one buffer vial for reconstitution, and the panels were distributed to all 61 testing points and 27 COPP teams statewide. 

By strengthening proficiency testing and quality control systems, ECEWS continues to advance the reliability of HIV diagnostic services in Delta State, supporting Nigeria’s broader goal of HIV epidemic control.