Grand Challenges RFP supports outbreak-ready tests and surveillance tools suited to resource-constrained settings.

The Gates Foundation has launched a Grand Challenges request for proposals (RFP) entitled Innovations in Decentralized Pan-Orthoebolavirus Diagnostics, issued in response to the ongoing 2026 Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus. The call aims to address limitations in current diagnostic capacity, including the absence of rapid tests that reliably detect Bundibugyo virus and reliance on laboratory-based reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction testing.

The RFP seeks decentralised diagnostic approaches designed for deployment closer to patients and communities affected by outbreaks. Proposed technologies are expected to function in resource-constrained environments and be suitable for community settings, peripheral health facilities and outbreak hotspots, without reliance on sophisticated laboratory infrastructure, cold-chain transport, stable electricity supplies or highly specialised personnel.

Applications should align with one use case specified in the call and address at least one of four objectives: generating knowledge and tools for future Orthoebolavirus diagnostics, accelerating field-deployable products, improving surveillance and early warning, and strengthening quality assurance and implementation systems for decentralised testing. The Foundation indicates that it expects to make up to 12 awards across five thematic areas: biomarkers, specimen innovations, diagnostic products, surveillance and early warning, and quality and implementation.

Eligible applicants include academic institutions, research institutes, non-profit organisations, for-profit companies, international organisations and government agencies based in any country. The Foundation particularly encourages applications from organisations based in, or working closely with partners in, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or other Ebola-endemic countries. Multi-institutional collaborations are welcomed.

Award sizes and durations vary by theme, ranging from $150,000 to $800,000 and from 18 to 36 months.

Applications are being reviewed on a rolling basis, and proposals may be advanced for funding consideration before the final submission deadline of 31 July 2026 (11:30 PT).