Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is an initiative by Vital Strategies aimed at enhancing the capacity and preparedness of low- and middle-income countries to prevent disease outbreaks. Phase I of the RTSL project, launched in 2019, focused on strengthening Quality Management and Specimen Referral Systems in Public Health Laboratories and Networks in Nigeria.
Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is an initiative by Vital Strategies aimed at enhancing the capacity and preparedness of low- and middle-income countries to prevent disease outbreaks. Phase I of the RTSL project, launched in 2019, focused on strengthening Quality Management and Specimen Referral Systems in Public Health Laboratories and Networks in Nigeria. This phase was implemented with the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC). As a sub-grantee to Vital Strategies, IHVN supported the six Yellow Fever (YF) and two COVID-19 laboratories across six states: FCT, Edo, Enugu, Kaduna, Lagos & Nasarawa. The laboratories involved included the National Reference Laboratory in Gaduwa, Abuja; Central Public Health Laboratory in Lagos; Maitama District Hospital in Abuja; Yusuf Dantsoho Hospital in Kaduna; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu; University of Benin Teaching Hospital in Benin; Nasarawa State Infectious Disease Research Center; and Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Edo.
Phase II of the project began in 2023 to support laboratory governance at the subnational level and improve laboratory quality systems through effective subnational coordination (Laboratory Quality Systems, JEE indicator D1.2). This phase is being implemented with the Medical Laboratory Science Division (MLSD) of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) Federal Ministry of Health ( FMoH-MLS) across four states: Bayelsa, FCT, Nasarawa, and Kano. Additionally, in partnership with NCDC, it aims to establish and improve national and subnational specimen referral systems for rapid detection of priority pathogens and epidemic-prone diseases.