Strengthening Diagnostic Capacity: A Key to Achieving Gender and Health Equity

As the world marks 30 years since the Beijing Declaration, the urgency of addressing gender disparities in healthcare has never been more apparent. Despite significant progress, women continue to face barriers in accessing timely screening and accurate diagnostics. Strengthening diagnostic capacity is not only essential for improving health outcomes but also a fundamental step towards achieving global gender equity.

The Role of Diagnostics in Women’s Health

Accurate and timely diagnoses underpin effective healthcare, informing prevention, treatment, and long-term disease management. Although in vitro diagnostics (IVDs)—which detect diseases, conditions, and infections—account for less than 5% of healthcare spending, they influence nearly 70% of clinical decisions, highlighting their critical role.

Take cervical cancer, for example—a largely preventable and treatable disease when detected early. High-risk HPV infections (hr-HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer, can be identified through high-performance screening tests recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Early detection significantly improves survival rates, with over 90% of women diagnosed at an early stage surviving five years or more, compared to less than 20% for those diagnosed at a late stage. Expanding access to accurate screening could prevent millions of unnecessary deaths and yield substantial economic and social benefits.

Beyond cervical cancer, diagnostics are equally crucial for conditions such as preeclampsia and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), where early identification can significantly transform health outcomes.

Preeclampsia, a life-threatening hypertensive disorder during pregnancy, remains a leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality, contributing to 76,000 maternal deaths and 500,000 fetal deaths annually. Without timely diagnosis, it can lead to severe complications, including stroke and maternal death. Since no medical cure exists, early detection through screening is vital for protecting both mothers and babies.

Similarly, PCOS, one of the most common endocrine disorders, affects 6–13% of reproductive-aged women worldwide, yet 70% remain undiagnosed. This condition extends beyond reproductive health, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mental health disorders. Early diagnosis allows for better management, preventing long-term complications and improving overall well-being.

Bridging the Gender Health Gap

Women typically live longer than men but experience more years of poor health. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of diagnostics in disease response and long-term healthcare planning. Lessons learned during the crisis must now be applied to strengthen routine screening and diagnostics, ensuring that women everywhere have access to timely, high-quality care.

Diagnostics are not just tools for detecting diseases—they enable prevention, risk assessment, and early intervention, all of which contribute to reducing health disparities. An accurate diagnosis empowers women to make informed choices about their health, seek care sooner, and manage conditions effectively.

For instance, fertility awareness remains low, with many women seeking interventions only when their fertility is already declining. Early diagnostic tests for ovarian reserve can help women make proactive reproductive health decisions. Similarly, advances in self-collection methods for cervical cancer screening and mobile ultrasounds are bringing healthcare closer to women, ensuring greater accessibility and choice.

Investing in Diagnostics: A Shared Responsibility

Investing in diagnostics is not just a healthcare imperative—it is an investment in sustainable health systems that empower women, reduce health inequities, and drive economic growth. Achieving the Beijing+30 vision requires a concerted effort across multiple sectors:

• Governments must integrate diagnostics into national health strategies, allocate funding, and expand essential diagnostic lists to include conditions that disproportionately affect women.

• Global health organisations should foster public-private partnerships to improve access to diagnostic solutions that enable early detection and better disease management.

• The private sector must continue to innovate, ensuring that affordable and high-quality diagnostics are available to improve women's health outcomes.

By strengthening diagnostic capacity, we can move closer to a world where every woman—regardless of geography or socioeconomic status—has timely access to the care she needs. Diagnostics are at the heart of women’s health equity, from preventing cancer to safeguarding pregnancies and improving the accurate diagnosis of conditions like heart attacks, which are often misdiagnosed in women.

As we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, investing in accessible, high-quality diagnostics must be a priority in advancing global gender and health equity. A future where every woman has access to the diagnostic tools she needs is a future where true gender equality in health can be realised.

Note: Originally published https://www.weforum.org/