In the evolving landscape of global health, where private sector innovation increasingly intersects with public systems, organisations like Abbott Laboratories continue to play a role in advancing access to life-saving diagnostics across Africa.
In a conversation with the General Manager for Rapid Diagnostics across East, Central and West Africa at Abbott Laboratories Aziz Abdi, we learnt how Abbott is driving efforts to expand rapid diagnostic tools, particularly in the fight against elimination of mother-to-child transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV, syphilis and Hepatitis B.
In Africa, health systems face disproportionate burdens from infectious diseases such as HIV, syphilis and hepatitis. Diagnostics, Abdi argues, are the critical entry point to treatment and prevention.
“Early and accurate diagnosis determines whether a patient gets timely care—and whether transmission is prevented,” he explains.
A key innovation Abdi highlights is Abbott’s fourth-generation HIV rapid test, capable of detecting infections earlier than conventional methods. Unlike older tests that identify antibodies weeks after infection, this technology detects the p24 antigen within days—enabling earlier intervention.
