Nuclear Medicine: Bridging Global Healthcare Gaps for a Healthier Future
"Discover how the World Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology (WFNMB) is tackling global healthcare disparities through innovative solutions and international collaboration."
The 12th Asia Oceania Congress of Nuclear Medicine highlighted a critical reality: despite significant efforts, nuclear medicine remains in its early stages across much of Asia and Oceania. This is happening even as the world advances toward precision and personalized medicine. Many countries still struggle with the fundamental infrastructure needed to support nuclear medicine, revealing a substantial disparity in healthcare capabilities.
While nations like Japan, Korea, and China perform millions of nuclear medicine procedures annually, others face unique obstacles. Bangladesh has strong infrastructure but struggles with economic development, whereas Mongolia, Yemen, and Nepal need to cultivate their own nuclear medicine experts. China must dramatically increase its numbers of trained professionals to meet clinical demands across all regions. Even developed countries like Japan and Korea face challenges, including declining practices and reimbursement issues, demonstrating that advancements are not uniform or without setbacks.
These challenges aren't new; they have been persistent since the inception of nuclear medicine. Addressing them requires a global perspective focused on sharing successes and strategic plans to overcome current and future hurdles. The World Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology (WFNMB) is actively fostering a relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO) to address these global needs collaboratively.
A Small Share of Global Imaging
A 2020 global perspective reported that diagnostic nuclear medicine, including SPECT and PET, accounted for 6.5% of the global medical imaging market, which also includes CT, MRI, ultrasound, and X-ray. The IAEA’s NUMDAB database collects facility information submitted directly by nuclear medicine centers and updates it as new information is supplied. These figures and databases offer different ways to describe the field’s scale and resources.
From Radioactivity to Medical Treatment
Nuclear medicine’s history spans more than a century, beginning with the discovery of radioactivity and the development of radionuclides for medical use. Marie Curie conducted pioneering research on radioactivity in the early 1900s. After World War II, nuclear science research was redirected toward medicine, and iodine-131 was used to treat Graves’ disease and thyroid cancer.
Why is Nuclear Medicine Recognition by WHO a Game Changer?
The WFNMB has applied for recognition as an official Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by the WHO, marking a pivotal step towards integrating nuclear medicine into global healthcare frameworks. This recognition is more than just a title; it signifies that nuclear medicine is considered a vital clinical entity on an international stage.
- Global Reach: The WHO's recognition enables WFNMB to influence healthcare policies and practices worldwide.
- Regional Customization: Collaborating with regional offices ensures that nuclear medicine initiatives are relevant and effective in diverse settings.
- Resource Optimization: WHO's structured resource allocation supports the implementation of nuclear medicine programs in areas where they are most needed.
Reviews and Regional Practice
A narrative review dated April 7, 2026, reports that it selected and discussed meta-analyses published mainly in the preceding decade to survey progress in nuclear medicine. Its focus includes oncology, cardiology, and neurology. Separately, a 2022 update on nuclear cardiology in Latin America and the Caribbean identifies high equipment costs, maintenance and service gaps, insufficient training, and limited physician awareness as challenges to the development of nuclear cardiology and other advanced imaging.
Costs and Sustainability Constraints
A systematic review of radionuclide therapies in Africa gives a modeled investment range of US$545–995 million over 10 years, based on IAEA infrastructure unit costs and Zubizarreta et al. benchmarks. The review explicitly describes this as a planning-range estimate, not an empirically measured figure. A 2024 article on sustainability in nuclear medicine says that clinical and research practices face key sustainability issues and that priorities across five dimensions can conflict, requiring compromise.
What Future Innovations are on the Horizon?
To truly integrate nuclear medicine into global healthcare, efforts must focus on being part of the Integrated Service Delivery framework promoted by the WHO. This includes addressing the shortage of healthcare workers in developing countries and expanding access to secondary care aspects like therapy and theranostics. While cutting-edge technologies like PET/MRI and PET/CT are valuable, the emphasis should be on radionuclide therapy and dosimetry, which offer essential diagnostic and treatment capabilities.
Emerging Tools and Market Projections
A March 2026 market report identifies novel radiopharmaceuticals, personalized-medicine approaches, and the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning as trends in nuclear medicine. A separate market forecast reports that North America held 42.2% of 2025 market revenue and projects Asia-Pacific to grow at a 15.6% compound annual rate through 2035. That forecast attributes the projected regional growth to China’s Medical Isotope Development Plan.
Integrating Services and Expanding Access
Nuclear medicine can support disease detection, treatment planning, and monitoring, but integrating its services into resource-limited health systems remains challenging. The Nuclear Medicine Global Initiative lists projects surveying global access to radioisotopes and developing pediatric dosage guidelines. It also reports that its work has more recently addressed worldwide challenges in theranostics.
Public Health and Responsible Practice
A study on the global cycling of radioactive isotopes from nuclear medicine addresses environmental and public health risks associated with nuclear medicine waste. It says the work aims to improve understanding, strengthen waste management and regulations, and refine international policies to reduce future contamination. Separately, a World Health Assembly resolution was presented by Member States to address global needs in medical imaging and nuclear medicine through policy implementation via the WHO.