Abstract
Introduction and methodology
This report is part of an ongoing initiative within UNITAID to describe and monitor the malaria diagnostics technology and market landscape. It includes a review of the current research and development (R&D) pipeline and the rapid diagnostic test (RDT) market, analysis of the markets overall health and discussion of potential opportunities for market-based interventions to address challenges. Information in this report was derived through a variety of methods, including desk research, procurement dataset analyses and consultation with experts.
Public health problem, commodity access, and malaria policy
Globally, since 2000, there has been a 37% decrease in malaria incidence; however, progress is both uneven and fragile. Many countries have reduced transmission to very low levels and over one third of the 96 malaria-endemic countries have committed to elimination in the coming decades. At the same time, declines in incidence and mortality have been slower in the countries that have the highest burden of disease. To address these epidemiological shifts and ensuing challenges, in May 2015, the World Health Assembly adopted a new World Health Organization (WHO) Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030 (GTS), a 15-year roadmap for malaria. The GTS sets out targets for control and for elimination. With respect to diagnosis, the GTS emphasizes the need to achieve universal coverage of core interventions, including diagnostic testing, as well as the need for innovative delivery and new diagnostic product development. Additionally, it stresses the importance of surveillance, and diagnostic testing underpins many surveillance activities.