The Challenge
Accessible and effective laboratory and diagnostic services are essential to primary health care worldwide. In low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of infectious disease is disproportionately high, strong laboratory systems are particularly important. In countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, limited diagnostic capacity can put people at greater risk of untreated illnesses or misdiagnosis – which leads to poor treatment outcomes and fuels drug resistance – and preventable death.
Fully equipped and functioning laboratory systems allow health workers to track antimicrobial resistance, identify emerging disease threats and detect outbreaks early. This bolsters the capacity of countries to find patients and link them to timely treatment, while also strengthening global health security. During infectious disease outbreaks, such as COVID-19, Ebola or mpox, resilient laboratory systems support the rapid identification and containment of these threats, helping to reduce their impact on communities and the economy.
Investing in laboratories is a cost-effective way to make high-quality health care more accessible, make health systems more resilient, advance progress toward universal health coverage, accelerate gains against HIV, TB and malaria and safeguard against future health threats.
Our Response
Laboratories are essential in the fight against HIV, TB and malaria. They help detect diseases, confirm diagnoses and track patients' health, ensuring they receive the right treatment. Strengthened laboratory systems lead to more accurate test results and faster medical decisions, helping to provide better care and respond to new health challenges more effectively.
The Global Fund’s Strategy 2023-2028 emphasizes our critical role in supporting countries to develop laboratory networks that are accessible, responsive to local needs and designed to serve communities effectively.
Over the past two decades, we have invested significantly in building laboratory infrastructure and supporting efforts to equip laboratories with the necessary in vitro diagnostics, equipment and personnel to respond to HIV, TB, malaria and other diseases. In 2023 alone, we invested US$142.4 million in expanding and strengthening laboratory and diagnostics capacities and US$98.6 million in surveillance systems to strengthen early detection and reporting capabilities in the countries we support.
Our investments also contribute to strengthening supply chains to deliver diagnostic tools locally and implementing digital systems to efficiently manage patient data and results. We support efforts to reinforce governance and quality management systems, which help to ensure reliable, accurate diagnosis and foster trust in the results that patients receive.
Maximizing Investment Impact
By investing in strong, adaptable laboratory systems as part of sustainable HIV, TB and malaria programs, the Global Fund is supporting countries to tackle multiple diseases – including climate-sensitive diseases – efficiently, making every dollar count while improving long-term pandemic preparedness and response.
Investing in HIV, TB and malaria programs strengthens disease responses while enhancing the resilience of laboratory networks to various threats. During the COVID-19 pandemic, diagnostic equipment for TB and HIV was swiftly repurposed for COVID-19 testing, allowing countries to test for multiple diseases at once. Similarly, laboratory systems developed for HIV, TB and malaria are now being used to respond to mpox and other emerging outbreaks.
