Regional Workshop on Improving Access to Essential Diagnostics with particular focus on Primary Health Care

Overview

This regional workshop, held in-person in Jakarta, Indonesia, was conducted by the Health Technology (HT) unit of the Department of UHC/Health Systems (HSD) of WHO SEARO. It was also available for virtual attendance. The workshop followed a webinar conducted by HT in March 2022, “Regional Workshop on Essential Diagnostics”. 

In May 2023, the Seventy Sixth World Health Assembly adopted a resolution to “Strengthen diagnostics capacity”, which urges Member States “to extend the scope of packages of essential diagnostic services, and to make essential diagnostics available, accessible and affordable at the primary health care level. 

Prior to the workshop, SEARO HT sent a Background Report to attendees from the Member States, see Annex 1. This provided background information and guidance for preparation of presentations by Member States on their current diagnostics policy and implementation of diagnostics services. The Background Report included links to several online reference materials. These digital materials were also included on thumb drives distributed to workshop attendees. 

India was the first Member State globally to develop a National Essential Diagnostics List, published in 2019, following its development of the Free Diagnostics Initiative in 2015. More recently, Nepal and Timor-Leste have been developing their National Essential Diagnostics Lists since 2022, with adoption and publication expected between late-2023 and mid-2024. Other Member States in South-East Asia have also expressed intention to develop their National Essential Diagnostics List.