A new report has revealed that about half of the approved diagnostic tests for six epidemic-prone diseases in Africa cannot be used at primary healthcare centres because they require laboratory infrastructure that is often unavailable.
The findings raise concerns about the continent’s preparedness to detect and respond quickly to disease outbreaks.
The report found that 50 per cent of approved diagnostic tests 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, limiting access in rural and underserved communities.
Researchers also noted a steady decline in funding for diagnostic research and development since 2015, despite Africa’s continued vulnerability to infectious disease outbreaks.
The report identified 577 approved diagnostic products across the six diseases, with another 59 currently under development.
The findings come months after the 2026 Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak, during which health authorities initially failed to detect the virus because available tests were designed to identify the Zaire strain of Ebola.
The mismatch delayed confirmation of the outbreak by 10 days, exposing critical gaps in Africa’s diagnostic preparedness.
The report, titled Diagnostics Deficit: Funding, Access, and Preparedness Gaps in African Health Systems, was launched by PATH and Impact Global Health ahead of the African Union Extraordinary Health Summit in Accra, Ghana.
It also revealed that innovation remains concentrated in mpox and dengue, which account for 84 per cent of all approved and pipeline diagnostic products, while cholera and bacterial meningitis have just seven approved or pipeline products each.
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