BRUSSELS, 24th August, 2026 (WAM) -- The European Commission, with the support of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency, has signed an agreement to procure open-platform polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests worth €2.1 million to respond to the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak.
The PCR tests are being donated to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Hub for Global Health Emergencies Logistics in Dubai, which will organise their distribution. The deliveries will begin in August.
The diagnostic tests follow another agreement earlier this week with the Commission's procurement of €2.5 million worth of rapid molecular point-of-care tests and testing instruments to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Diagnostics such as PCR tests play an essential role in response through their high accuracy, large testing capacity, and compatibility with existing laboratory infrastructure, ensuring timely detection of cases. This improves outbreak control by effectively identifying infected patients, who can be treated and isolated to protect others and reduce the spread of the virus.
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, said: “In an outbreak every day counts. The faster we detect cases, the faster patients can receive treatment and the faster we can stop the virus from spreading. That is why Europe is acting, with €4.6 million in diagnostic tests and close cooperation with the WHO and Africa CDC. Health threats do not stop at borders. Neither can our response.”
The Commission has mobilised €493 million in emergency aid, vaccines, treatment and health security in the Great Lakes and Uganda region. The ECDC currently assesses the risk of Ebola to people in Europe as very low.