Diagnostics, resilience and the Global South

WHEN outbreaks strike, the weakest link is often not treatment but diagnosis. In much of the Global South, the ability to detect disease early, confirm it reliably, and scale testing quickly still depends too heavily on imported technologies, fragmented supply chains, and external assistance. That dependence is costly enough in normal times and becomes dangerous in a crisis.

Sri Lanka’s current dengue outbreak illustrates the problem with unusual clarity. This year, the country reported 82,838 cases with 61 confirmed dengue-related deaths.