Today, IPPS has released a new Diagnostics Report – ‘Making the Exceptional Routine: embedding diagnostic best practice to improve pandemic preparedness’ in collaboration with FIND, our 100 Days Mission (100DM) diagnostics partners. The report aims to reshape the narrative of pandemic preparedness, highlighting diagnostics as an integral tool for a swift and effective pandemic response.
Despite being historically neglected compared to other interventions, the COVID-19 pandemic showcased the indispensable nature of diagnostics as a first line of defence, with over 3 billion SARS-CoV-2 tests conducted worldwide. Learning from the pandemic, the report highlights the need for faster and wider availability of diagnostics, especially in low-income countries, urging coordinated actions to minimise future threats.
Building on the original 100DM recommendations, the publication outlines three critical enablers:
– Multiplex testing
– Digitally-connected diagnostics
– Linking diagnostics to care and treatment.
The report calls on key stakeholders – including policymakers and regulators – to embrace and prioritise multiplex diagnostic approaches, which offer enhanced surveillance capabilities compared with traditional methods.
Digital connectivity is highlighted as a second critical enabler, with the report urging research funders, the private sector, policymakers and governments to invest in digital infrastructure that integrates diagnostics with patient care and surveillance systems.
Finally, the report emphasises the importance of linking diagnostics to care and treatment. Despite progress, basic diagnostics are not routinely integrated into healthcare in many countries, risking inappropriate treatments and drug resistance. Policymakers, research funders and procurers are called upon to optimise the use of test-to-treat strategies, to facilitate effective responses to both endemic and pandemic diseases.
These three critical enablers aim to make exceptional diagnostic practices routine, providing a robust foundation for global health systems in the face of pandemics, as well as other threats. The IPPS and 100DM Science and Technology Expert Group (STEG) are committed to tracking progress, addressing key challenges, and ensuring the implementation of these recommendations.