Keeping our feet on the ground: the role of innovation in scaling up diagnosis to counter antimicrobial resistance

At the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), member states committed to improving access to diagnosis and care for at least 80% of countries by 2030. However, access to quality-assured microbiology laboratories is scarce in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and the Middle East, particularly in the least-resourced tiers of healthcare delivery. The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) AMR Forum reported that progress towards appropriate use of antimicrobials is being hindered in some contexts by a failure to embrace new tools. The report also highlighted the importance of improving laboratory capacity and staffing capabilities, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is continuously scanning the landscape of novel diagnostic tests that could be adapted to the constraints of LMICs, including culture-independent diagnostics. The technical shortcomings of these non-culture-based platforms, combined with their high cost, restrict their utility.