Exemplars and innovations in diagnostics

The Exemplars in Global Health programme brings together experts, funders, and partners from around the world to identify positive global health outliers, analyze what makes countries successful, and disseminate core lessons so they can be adapted in comparable settings.

Focusing on a broad range of diseases and topics under the theme of testing and diagnostics, this specific project within the Exemplars in Global Health programme has two aims:

1. Identify innovations (e.g. products or diagnostic tools) that have high potential to close the diagnostic gap, ranging from R&D to global policy
2. Identify exemplars (e.g. countries that successfully implemented programmes in screening, testing, and linkage to care within the cascade of care). This spans from global policy to clinical and public health impact on the diagnostics value chain

Topics in scope for the Exemplars in Global Health Programme

Innovation case study: rapid diagnostic tests for sleeping sickness (human African trypanosomiasis; HAT)

• Rapid diagnostic tests for HAT improved access to screening at lower levels of care and in hard-to-reach populations
• Success was enabled by WHO leadership and commitment to accelerate the control and elimination of HAT in combination with strong global funding sources
• Early engagement with different governmental and non-governmental country stakeholders to complete development and obtain regulatory approvals was a key contributor to success

Exemplars case study: HIV testing in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s success in HIV screening was enabled by:

• High knowledge on HIV and where to go to get tested among residents
• Increased community-based testing and anonymous HIV testing that reduced stigma
• Government and civil society awareness campaigns
• Testing of key population groups such as pregnant women
• Effective use of financial resources