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FIND’s Intervention on Ensuring Financial Protection for Universal Health Coverage at Plenary Session 2 of the 2nd G20 Health Working Group meeting

G20

Delivered by Dorcas Mapondera
26 March 2025  

FIND welcomes the G20’s prioritization of financial protection as a cornerstone of UHC. As countries grapple with the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and rising out-of-pocket (OOP) health costs, it is vital to recognize the role of diagnostics in mitigating financial hardship.

Diagnostics are the gateway to effective and affordable care. Yet, nearly half of the world’s population lacks access to basic diagnostic services. This gap, which is more severe at the primary care level, leads to delayed or incorrect diagnoses, poorer health outcomes and ultimately, higher treatment costs for individuals and health systems alike.

The session note rightly highlights systemic challenges: fragmented pooling of resources, limited mandatory financial protection and unaddressed indirect costs of care. Diagnostics provide a strategic lever to tackle these issues with targeted and actionable solutions. Therefore, we offer the following four recommendations:

  1. Include essential diagnostic services in UHC benefit packages that are funded through pre-paid pooled mechanisms, such as national health insurance. This will reduce out-of-pocket spending and improve equity in access to testing.
  2. Invest in point-of-care diagnostics at the primary care level to bring services closer to communities and lower indirect costs currently borne by those seeking care.
  3. Integrate diagnostic data into health information and logistics systems to support effective planning, tracking and delivery of essential commodities and financial protection measures.
  4. Strengthen regional manufacturing and pooled procurement to lower costs, enhance supply chain resilience and ensure sustainable access to testing.

To conclude, embedding diagnostics within financial protection strategies will be key to preventing poverty due to health spending and realizing the full promise of UHC.

Thank you.