RFP No. ASLM/MADE/CONS/DEV/STR/07/31/26
CLOSING DATE: 21 AUGUST 2026
When responding to this RFP Mention the RFP No. in the subject line
INTRODUCTION
The African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) is a Pan‐African professional body, working to advocate for the critical role and needs of laboratory medicine and networks throughout Africa. For more information, please visit our website at https://aslm.org.
OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT | SCOPE OF WORK | EXPECTED DELIVERABLES
Africa is rapidly growing but faces major health challenges including epidemics of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, and new priorities such as Ebola and other global health security threats. Strengthened laboratory capacity and surveillance in Africa are critical to overcoming the burden of disease and ensuring a healthy future for the continent. ASLM addresses these challenges by working collaboratively with governments, local and international organizations, implementing partners, and the private sector.
ASLM is working within the Unitaid-funded PATH-led consortium on the Manufacturing to Accelerate Diagnostic Excellence (MADE) in Africa project, which forms part of Unitaid’s Regional Manufacturing for Equitable Access portfolio. The project aims to fulfill the goals of existing efforts to strengthen Africa’s diagnostic supply landscape by supporting the development and scaling availability of regionally manufactured affordable, high-quality diagnostics in alignment with existing regional and continental efforts. By developing regional capacity, the MADE consortium aims to reduce import dependency, improve health outcomes, and build a more resilient and responsive diagnostic ecosystem across the continent.
PURPOSE OF CONSULTANCY
A major barrier to regional manufacturing is the limited availability and accessibility of well-characterized clinical samples in Africa to meet In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) performance evaluation requirements. The consultant will develop the overarching MADE project strategy to strengthen the end-to-end clinical sample acquisition ecosystem, covering sample identification, availability assessment, ethical and regulatory access, characterization, transport, storage, governance, and access to well characterised clinical samples for IVD performance evaluation, validation, and regulatory evidence generation by local manufacturers.