Access to testing is a critical part of the care and prevention for nearly every disease. It requires the right mix of affordable and high-quality technology and effective health systems. Not only is it important to choose the right technologies for each healthcare setting, but there are essential health services that need to be functioning for testing to be delivered effectively.

Many countries are still working to establish testing programs for essential diagnostics, both the technology infrastructure and the associated health systems required. As such, testing remains a critical gap for many diseases. In 2021, a Lancet Commission on diagnostics estimated that half the world’s population do not have access to essential tests.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought this into sharp focus. Providing testing rapidly became an enormous priority for countries, not only for individual patient care, but also to track and manage spread of the disease for pandemic control. Preventing future epidemics will rely on effective testing for early detection of emerging threats.