OPEN LETTER Lessons from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing strategies in three lusophone countries [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review] Luiza Madia Lourenco 1 , Celina Monteiro Abreu 2 , Larissa Deadame de Figueiredo Nicolete 3 , Viviana Mabombo 4 , Tacilta Nhampossa 4,5 , Raquel Matavele Chissumba 5 , Sadia Ali Pereira 5 , António Bandeira 6 , Marcos Roberto Tovani Palone 7 , Flávia Thedim Costa Bueno 8 , Bonny Louise Baker 9 , Trudie Lang 9 1 University of Brasília, Brasília, 70910-900, Brazil 2 Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MRB 831, USA 3 University of International Integration of the Afro-Brazilian Lusophony, Redenção, Ceará, 62790-970, Brazil 4 Manhiça Health Investigation Centre, Maputo, 1929, Mozambique 5 National Health Institute, Maputo, 3943, Mozambique 6 University of Porto, Porto, 4200 - 319, Portugal 7 University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil 8 Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, 21040-360, Brazil 9 University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LG, UK First published: 09 Jul 2021, 6:179 https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.17020.1 Latest published: 09 Jul 2021, 6:179 https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.17020.1 v1 Abstract During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, uncoordinated national responses have been observed around the world which have contributed to the difficulties in controlling the spread of the virus. This lack of dialogue between nations reflects several key determinants including the lack of platforms for non- English speaking researchers and healthcare professionals to engage with critical matters in their native languages. Here, we demonstrate how setting up a dedicated forum for Portuguese-speaking professionals from Brazil, Mozambique and Portugal facilitated the comparison of testing strategies undertaken by those countries during 2020. This working group was established in response to an open workshop conducted in Portuguese in March 2020, in which renowned scientists from lusophone countries were invited to share the COVID-19 responses in their respective countries. To date, the group has convened to address actions, in turn identifying the opportunity to publish the different established approaches to testing strategies undertaken by their countries. This effort highlighted that the governments of those three countries took very different Open Peer Review Reviewer Status AWAITING PEER REVIEW Any reports and responses or comments on the article can be found at the end of the article. Page 1 of 5 Wellcome Open Research 2021, 6:179 Last updated: 27 SEP 2021