Health
Half of approved diagnostics for Africa’s priority epidemic diseases unavailable at primary healthcare level – Report
A new report has revealed that about half of the approved diagnostic tests for six epidemic-prone diseases prioritised by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) cannot be used in most primary healthcare facilities across Africa because they require laboratory infrastructure that is often unavailable.
The report found that 50 per cent of approved diagnostics for Mpox, dengue, cholera, bacterial meningitis, malaria and Ebola depend on laboratory facilities beyond the reach of many frontline health centres.
For Ebola alone, 88 per cent of approved diagnostic tests require laboratory infrastructure.
It also found that funding for diagnostic research and development has steadily declined since 2015, despite Africa’s continued vulnerability to infectious disease outbreaks.
Findings come months after the 2026 Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak, during which health authorities initially failed to detect the virus because available diagnostic tests were designed to identify the Zaire strain of Ebola.
The mismatch delayed confirmation of the outbreak by 10 days, highlighting the consequences of gaps in Africa’s diagnostic preparedness.
The report, titled Diagnostics Deficit: Funding, Access, and Preparedness Gaps in African Health Systems, was launched by global health organisations PATH and Impact Global Health ahead of the African Union Extraordinary Health Summit in Accra, Ghana.
Rapid diagnostic tests play a critical role in identifying outbreaks early, guiding treatment and helping health authorities contain the spread of infectious diseases. However, limited access to these tools, particularly in primary healthcare centres where many patients first seek treatment, continues to weaken disease surveillance and emergency response across the continent.
Uneven progress
The report examined six diseases selected from Africa CDC’s priority list for their epidemic and outbreak potential: mpox, dengue, cholera, bacterial meningitis, malaria, and Ebola. Measles, although also on the priority list, was excluded because comparable G-FINDER funding data were unavailable.
Researchers identified 577 approved diagnostic products across six diseases, with another 59 still under development.
However, innovation remains heavily concentrated in just two diseases. Dengue and mpox account for 84 per cent of all approved and pipeline diagnostic products, while cholera and bacterial meningitis, both identified by Africa CDC as major outbreak and antimicrobial resistance threats, have only seven approved or pipeline products each.
Despite a growing number of diagnostic products, access remains a major challenge. Of the 577 approved diagnostics, 288 require clinical laboratory infrastructure, limiting their use in PHC facilities.
While 83 per cent of malaria diagnostics can be deployed at the PHC level, most approved diagnostics for Ebola and mpox remain laboratory dependent, restricting their use in frontline health facilities.
Further review showed that investment in diagnostic research and development has continued to decline. Using G-FINDER data, the analysis found that annual funding for six diseases has fallen by nearly $4 million (approx. ₦6 billion depending on exchange rates) since 2015, dropping from almost $55 million to less than $26 million in 2024.
It warned that funding typically rises during major outbreaks before falling sharply once emergencies subside, a cycle that leaves African countries inadequately prepared for future epidemics.
Experts’ concerns
Commenting on the findings, Sabastine Wakdok, Director of Research at Impact Global Health, said a steady decline in funding reflects a diagnostic research system struggling to keep pace with Africa’s growing outbreak risks.
Mr Wakdok said investment in research and development for diagnostics targeting six priority diseases has continued to fall despite rising disease incidence across the continent.
He noted that funding often increases during outbreaks but drops sharply once the immediate crisis passes, leaving African countries inadequately prepared for future epidemics.
“Diagnostic R&D investment for six Africa CDC priority diseases has fallen nearly $4 million annually since 2015. More troubling, this decline persists despite rising disease incidence and outbreak risk,” he said.
He added that the continent was not receiving the sustained investment needed for epidemic-prone diseases, warning that outbreak-driven funding cycles leave Africa “perpetually underprepared.”
Also commenting, PATH’s Senior Director for the Centre for Advocacy and Policy, Bernard Aryeetey, said the challenge goes beyond developing new diagnostic technologies to ensuring they reach the people and health facilities that need them most.
Mr Aryeetey stressed that the availability of diagnostic tools alone is not enough if they cannot be accessed during outbreaks or integrated into frontline health systems.
“It is not solely whether diagnostics exist, but also whether they can reach clinics and surveillance systems when they are most needed, especially during outbreaks,” he said.
He warned that unless barriers relating to access, affordability, deployment and manufacturing readiness are addressed, people will continue to die needlessly even when effective diagnostic tools are available.
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Recommendations
To address identified gaps, the report called for sustained domestic and international investment in diagnostic research, arguing that emergency-driven funding alone cannot build resilient health systems.
It urged African governments to increase national financing for diagnostics while encouraging global health donors to provide predictable, long-term support.
Authors also recommended that Africa CDC make diagnostics a central pillar of the continent’s health security strategy and called on researchers and manufacturers to prioritise developing diagnostic tools for use in PHC facilities, rather than relying mainly on technologies that require sophisticated laboratory infrastructure.
To improve access across the continent, the report urged the African Medicines Agency to harmonise regulatory approval processes so that diagnostic tests approved in one African country can be recognised more easily in others.
It also highlighted Africa’s growing manufacturing capacity, noting that facilities across the continent can collectively produce more than 500 million diagnostic units annually.
However, weak demand, fragmented regulation, financing constraints and limited ecosystem support continue to prevent manufacturers from operating at scale.
The report concluded that although Africa has expanded its diagnostic pipeline in recent years, improving access, affordability, manufacturing capacity, and deployment will be critical to strengthening the continent’s preparedness for future disease outbreaks.
The Lagos State government has disputed claims that only one dialysis machine is functional at the Alimosho General Hospital, Igando.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, made the clarification in a post on X on Sunday, saying all eight dialysis machines at the hospital’s dialysis centre are functional.
PREMIUM TIMES traced the claim to a video posted by Nigerian skit maker and social media influencer Akewusola Oladipupo, popularly known as MC Always, on 17 September.
In the video posted on his Facebook and Instagram accounts, Mr Oladipupo raised concerns about the condition of the dialysis centre, describing it as “in shambles” and “in a state of comatose”.
He said only one dialysis machine was working at the facility and questioned how patients could be adequately attended to with the limited equipment.
Mr Oladipupo also said the hospital’s generator operates from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., while a dialysis session takes at least four hours. He questioned how the centre could serve patients if only one machine was functioning out of what he estimated to be 10 to 15 machines.
“So all the people that have kidney problems in Lagos are in serious problem,” he said. What does it take to fix these machines?” Mr Oladipupo asked, adding that the centre was not accepting new patients and was only attending to existing ones.
Government responds
In his post, Mr Abayomi said the claim that the hospital had only one functional dialysis machine was false.
The post was accompanied by a video showing different sections of the dialysis centre and its machines. Mr Abayomi said the centre has eight dialysis machines and that all eight are working.
According to him, six of the machines serve general dialysis patients, while two are dedicated to patients living with HIV or hepatitis, in line with infection prevention and control measures.
He said dialysis sessions begin as early as 6 a.m. and continue until the last patient is attended to, sometimes until midnight.
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“We run up to 200 dialysis sessions every month,” Mr Abayomi said, adding that the centre has a dedicated standby generator.
The commissioner also listed other public hospitals offering dialysis services in Lagos, including Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), General Hospital Lagos, General Hospital Gbagada, Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Yaba, and Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute Metta.
Healthcare advocacy
Mr Oladipupo has continued to use his social media platforms to speak about challenges in Nigeria’s healthcare system following the death of his wife from Stage 4 cancer.
During an appearance on TVC in August, he spoke about his wife’s illness and the difficulties his family encountered while seeking care for her.
Since her death, he has used his platform to raise concerns about access to healthcare, the availability of functional medical equipment and the financial burden on patients and their families.
He urged patients and caregivers to speak about their experiences and called for improvements in the country’s healthcare system.
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