Malaria diagnosis is still very dependent on light microscopy and suffers from weak quality assurance programmes in many developing countries, especially in small peripheral health facilities such as those that serve rural areas. A decentralised quality assurance training and certification system for malaria microscopists, using sets of standardised malaria blood slides, is being created for Equatorial Guinea. This National Malaria Slide Archive is a first for any country, and has attracted the attention of the World Health Organization as a model for similar efforts in other countries.

Robert Jordan
Hydas World Health
Hummelstown, PA, USA
robert.jordan@hydasworldhealth.org

Miguel Torrez
Medical Care Development International
Silver Spring, MD, USA

Maximo Mico
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
Government of Equatorial Guinea