ACT-Accelerator Diagnostics Pillar Communications and Social Media Toolkit / January 2022

Testing is the first line of defense in the fight against COVID-19. We must urgently ensure equitable access to COVID-19 diagnostic tests.

Testing is a critical part of the comprehensive approach to defeat COVID-19. Without testing, we cannot track or contain the spread of the virus, address urgent clinical needs, test the efficacy of vaccines, or detect the emergence of new variants.

To save lives and fight this pandemic, there is an urgent need to scale up testing and ensure immediate equitable access to diagnostic tools across the world.

State of the Fight: Diagnostics Pillar Key Results

With FIND, the Global Fund co-leads the Diagnostics Pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator). The Pillar is working to ensure equitable access to testing tools, stimulate rapid and effective uptake of testing in countries, and drive the development and at-scale availability of affordable, transformative, digitally integrated tests. The Diagnostics Pillar is one of three Pillars of the ACT-Accelerator and is an essential component of the comprehensive fight against COVID-19. As of 25 January 2022, the Diagnostic Pillar has made a difference:

• Over 155.2 million COVID-19 tests (48.5 million PCR tests and 106.7 million Ag RDTs tests) have been procured for low- and middle-income countries.
• Over 42,200 health care workers are being trained in almost 200 countries to effectively implement the tests.
• Over 90 diagnostic tests have been independently assessed and benchmarked against quality criteria to inform government procurement of quality COVID-19 tests.
• Fast-tracked access to affordable, high quality Ag RDTs for low- and middle-income countries has been secured.
• Technology transfer, scale-up and automation of manufacturing capacity is driving down prices to less than US$2.50 per test.
• Over the next 12 months, the ACT-Accelerator's Diagnostics Pillar will support the procurement of 988 million tests to advance testing rates to a minimum of 100 tests per 100,000 individuals per day in low- middle- and upper-middle-income countries — well below the test rates of HICs, but a critical threshold to ensure effective public health interventions.

Key Messages

Vaccines alone are not going to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. We need a comprehensive approach that includes vaccines, tests and treatments, as vaccines will not be available everywhere at once and meanwhile the virus will continue to spread and mutate. Testing remains one of the most effective tools to trace COVID-19, stop the virus from spreading to others, and save lives.

New mutations of the virus will continue to emerge around the world, and we need to develop new tests that can detect these variants and measure the efficacy of vaccines against them.

Tests need to be easy to use and available in places with limited medical or laboratory settings. More RDTs and self-tests are needed to keep up with demand, especially in places where PCR facilities are not available. In 2020, fewer than 20% of health facilities across Africa had access to COVID-19 tests*. Funding is needed develop and distribute more effective, faster, and cheaper diagnostic tests.

Everyone needs equal access to tests, from the rich to the poor, across urban and rural settings. Yet we have a long way to go to reach testing equity. High-income countries are conducting 100 times more tests than low-income countries.**

This inequity in access to testing means that some countries are operating blind. This presents a whole new global health security risk, because without testing, we cannot know what variants are emerging or what the rates of infection are, taking us into extremely dangerous terrain.

* Based on spot checks across 24 African countries in 2020

** Based on the most recent rolling 7-day averages per 100,000 population. Source: FIND tracker, data 26 May 2021

Additional talking points available here.

Featured Stories

Testing for COVID-19 using antigen rapid diagnostic tests (Ag RDTs) in Ethiopia

Effective Diagnostics are the Eyes and Ears of a Global Pandemic Response. Tests are critical to help limit the spread of disease. There is no time to waste in the fight against COVID-19.

Safely Reopening Requires Testing, Tracing and Isolation, Not Just Vaccines

Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund & Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator write: "The recent surge of positive COVID-19 vaccine developments has sent waves of relief throughout a pandemic-weary world. However, no matter how effective these vaccines are, they will not be enough to end this global pandemic—and for many of the world’s most vulnerable communities, they won’t arrive fast enough."

"Test, trace and isolate—and ultimately test, trace and treat once more treatments become available—is an efficient, sustainable way to control the virus."

"Funding is urgently needed to scale up diagnostics for those who need them the most. Failure to do so could reinforce global disparities and threaten millions more people, especially those in LMICs, with extreme poverty, food insecurity and job loss."

(English and Français)

Multimedia Resources - Graphics

Social Media Messages

Testing is critical to trace & isolate #COVID19. But in spot checks across 24 African countries in 2020, fewer than 20% of health facilities had access to tests. Unacceptable! We must #UniteToFight to ensure equitable access to testing, treatments & vaccines for all.

Low and middle-income countries have been left behind. In 2020, across 24 African countries, fewer than 20% of health facilities had access to testing. We must #UniteToFight to close the testing gap. #HealthForAll

In 2020 across 24 African countries, fewer than 20% of health facilities had access to #COVID19 tests. In 2021, we can’t let this continue! We must #UniteToFight and turbocharge the equitable access of new tests, treatments, vaccines & health supplies worldwide.

The pressing need for #COVID19 testing is not over, and we also need to #BuildBackBetter with a new global agenda for #diagnostics to support both pandemic preparedness and #UHC, argue @BoehmeCatharina, @Emma_Hannay and @paimadhu in @NatureMedicine

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Photography: Atul Loke (Panos) and Henitsoa Rafalia (World Bank)