Prioritizing Diagnostics on the Global Agenda

Expanding access to strengthen global health systems

As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers, industry professionals, and practitioners convening at this year’s World Health Assembly will be keenly focused on strengthening pandemic preparedness and health systems resilience globally. Access to timely and accurate diagnosis will be vital to achieving these goals and global health security going forward. Yet, 47% of the global population — 81% of whom reside in low- and lower-middle-income countries — have little or no access to diagnostics, according to the Lancet Commission. Expanding access to diagnostics across developing countries, in particular, could help avoid 1.1 million deaths annually from HIV, TB, hepatitis B, syphilis, hypertension, and diabetes. Further, innovations in financing, technology, and workforce development can help close the access gap if prioritized, funded, and scaled. 

It was with these issues and urgency in mind, and on the occasion of the World Health Assembly, that Foreign Policy, in partnership with Roche, convened policymakers and stakeholders for a high-profile discussion on access to diagnostics, their contribution to universal health care, and global health system resilience. The discussion explored the strategies and partnerships that can meaningfully expand equitable access to diagnostics, and the health and socioeconomic impacts that greater access can have for individuals and communities around the world.

In partnership with

Event Details

Restaurant Vieux Bois
Av. de la Paix 12, 1202,
Geneva, Switzerland

Speakers

Peter Sands

Executive Director, The Global Fund
Peter Sands became Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in March 2018.    <spa...
Peter Sands, Executive Director, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. (Jan 2020)
Peter Sands, Executive Director, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. (Jan 2020)

Benjamin Ignace Bodounrin Hounkpatin

Minister of Health, Benin
Born July 31, 1974 in Porto-Novo, Benin, Benjamin Ignace Bodounrin Hounkpatin is a Beninese politician and doctor. In 2002 he obtained a State Doctorate in Medicine at the Facul...
benjamin
benjamin

Dr. Ayoade Alakija

Special Envoy for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator), World Health Organization (WHO)
Ayoade Alakija is a medical doctor who brings over two decades of experience from Asia, the Americas, the Pacific region, Europe and Africa to the...
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yodi

Allison Carlson

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, FOREIGN POLICY
Allison Carlson is the Executive Vice President at Foreign Policy. She oversees FPA’s cross-cutting research at the intersection of policy, technology, and global markets as w...
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Carlson-Allison-foreign-policy-staff-portraits-20227-e1668635426960

Ann Costello

President, Roche Diagnostics Solutions
Ms. Ann Costello has over thirty years of experience within the diagnostics field. She joined Roche T...
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ann_010 (2) (3)

Dr. Lindiwe Makubalo

Assistant Regional Director, African Region, World Health Organization (WHO)
Dr Lindiwe Makubalo was appointed to the position of Assistant Regional Director in 2021. She oversees the Regional Office’s eff...
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lindiwe-makubalo

Michael Kent Ranson

Senior Health Economist, The World Bank Group
Michael Kent Ranson is a Senior Economist (Health), based in the World Bank office in Geneva. He leads several activities within the Health Financing Global Solutions Group of t...
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450px_business.portrait.1924 (1)

Agenda

Arrivals & Networking
Opening Remarks
Allison Carlson, Executive Vice President, Foreign Policy
Headline Conversation
Peter Sands, Executive Director, The Global Fund
Moderator: Allison Carlson, Executive Vice President, Foreign Policy
Panel Discussion
Dr. Ayoade Alakija, Special Envoy for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator), World Health Organization (WHO)
Ann Costello, President, Roche Diagnostics Solutions
Dr. Lindiwe Makubalo, Assistant Regional Director, African Region, WHO
Michael Kent Ranson, Senior Health Economist, The World Bank Group
Moderator: Allison Carlson, Executive Vice President, Foreign Policy
Closing Address
Benjamin Ignace Bondunrin Hounkpatkin, Minister of Health, Benin
Closing Remarks
Allison Carlson, Executive Vice President, Foreign Policy
Reception