May 2025 – The ISR is delighted to announce the adoption of the World Health Assembly Resolution on Strengthening Medical Imaging Capacity

The adoption of the Resolution, led by Cameroon and co-sponsored by Brazil and other countries, coincides with the ISR’s centennial celebration and is in line with the Society’s goal to scale up imaging in low-resourced parts of the world.

Cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasing and disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), yet access to medical imaging as a crucial component of modern, high-quality healthcare remains severely limited in these countries. The Resolution on Strengthening Medical Imaging Capacity seeks to reduce these inequalities by reinforcing WHO Member States’ commitment to improve access to modern imaging technologies, considering the associated infrastructure, health workforce and training. The new Resolution on imaging builds on the WHA76.5 Resolution on Strengthening Diagnostics Capacity and is based on The Lancet Oncology Commissions on Medical Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, which the ISR supported and which demonstrated the health and economic benefits of enhancing access to medical imaging and nuclear medicine for cancer.

To advocate for the Resolution prior to the WHA, the ISR, jointly with the World Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology (WFNMB), coordinated a multi-society constituency statement, an informal WHA78 meeting for Non-State actors, Member States and the WHO secretariat on April 17, 2025 as well as a networking event entitled “Strengthening Medical Imaging Capacity: The Time is Now”  on May 21 on the sidelines of the WHA in Geneva where ISR President-Elect Boris Brkljacic represented the ISR. Guy Frija and Monika Hierath also represented ISR in Geneva at other side events during the week of the Assembly.

Now that the Resolution has been ratified by the Assembly, it will catalyze efforts to address geopolitical barriers, to bring innovative and affordable equipment to the point of care and to address significant regional shortages of radiologists, radiographers and medical physicists.

Thanks to its collaboration with other imaging related non-state actors in official relations with the WHO as well as with the IAEA, the ISR is able to bring high-quality education to underserved areas and to promote radiation safety and quality. As an umbrella organization of the international imaging community, the ISR will be strongly supportive of all activities to implement the resolution, following its strong belief that where you live should not determine whether you have access to life-saving medical imaging.

For further information, please visit the Imaging Commission website here.