World Health Organization plan to roll out 120 million rapid COVID-19 tests

The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners said on Monday that they will provide 120 million rapid COVID-19 diagnostic tests to low- and middle-income countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners said on Monday that they will provide 120 million rapid COVID-19 diagnostic tests to low- and middle-income countries.

These tests will provide reliable results in about 15-30 minutes rather than hours or days, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a joint press briefing on Monday with partner organizations, such as the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, the Global Fund, Unitaid, and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

According to the WHO, these test kits are currently priced at a maximum of five U.S. dollars per unit, which is already substantially cheaper than the PCR tests.

The WHO said that volume guarantee agreements have been developed between two manufacturers and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which will make 120 million of these new highly portable and easy-to-use rapid diagnostic tests available over a period of six months.