UNICEF and Gavi today called on vaccine manufacturers to submit plans for a Bundibugyo Ebola virus vaccine through a newly issued Request for Expression of Interest. The move follows Gavi’s earlier commitment of $40 million to support rapid access once viable candidates emerge.
No vaccine yet exists against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, the strain driving an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Eastern DRC has recorded 1,094 confirmed cases and 277 deaths; Uganda has 20 cases and two deaths.
“While we are some way off having a safe and effective vaccine, we need to act now so manufacturers can start producing doses at scale,” said Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi.
Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, highlighted the toll on children: “Our teams have met children who lost their mothers to Ebola. Children are especially vulnerable because they depend on caregivers and cannot distance themselves the way adults can.”
Accelerating vaccine development and deployment is now a critical global priority.