One of the most effective ways to stem disease is early detection. Access to diagnostic tests remains a significant challenge for developing countries, in part because of the high cost of delivery and transport to remote areas. To address this problem the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics was launched in 2003 to develop urgently needed diagnostic tests for tropical diseases. The goal is to provide highly affordable point-of-care tests that will help control the spread of disease in endemic countries. This new organization and its work were made possible almost entirely by grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which considers fighting infectious disease in developing countries its first health priority.
- Information at World Health Organization, who.int/trypanosomiasis_african/partners/find/en/index.html