The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) invited Willo Block, Executive Vice President of External Relations, FIND and Ayushi Agnihotri, Deputy Director of Resource Mobilization, FIND for a joint seminar on October 20, 2023 to explain FIND’s strategy for global health. FIND is an international non-profit organization dedicated to driving progress towards global health through innovative diagnostics.

The goal of eliminating the three major infectious diseases of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and innovative diagnostic technologies are key to achieving the SDG target by 2030. Approximately 30 participants from Japanese Academica, IVD, Pharmaceutical companies and other organizations gathered at the seminar and shared how FIND and the GHIT Fund are contributing the diagnostic innovation through their partnerships.

FIND seeks to ensure equitable access to quality diagnostics around the world and is focused on connecting countries, communities, funders, decision-makers, healthcare providers and developers to spur diagnostics innovation and make testing an integral part of sustainable and resilient healthcare systems. Japan is a global leader that can shape healthcare and health systems in emerging markets, and its long-standing partnership with the GHIT Fund has enabled POCT tuberculosis diagnostics and the targeted mass drug administration for schistosomiasis.

USD 76 billion has been invested in global health R&D over the past 15 years, and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America will see steep growth in demand for Primary Health diagnostics to USD 38 billion by 2024.

FIND has a major role to play in this environment, focusing on

1) Partnership with industry by a combination of bespoke support and open-access resources to drive forward solutions from concept and feasibility to validation, manufacturing, and roll-out.

2) Highlights across the diagnostic value chain turning diagnostic innovation into HEALTH impact by a combination of Research & Development, Scale-up & Sustainability, Awareness & Advocacy, Regulation & Evidence generation, Manufacturing and Procurement & Supply

3) Spotlight on the data, resources, and insights by a combination of Diagnostic target product profiles (TPPs), Biobank services to access well-characterized samples, Market insights and technology landscape and Test directories.

A seminar video is available below, please click for more information.
*This is consecutive interpretation in Japanese and English.