CEPI Warns $184.8m funding gap could undermine Bundibugyo Virus vaccine efforts

Health

GENEVA, Switzerland (NPA) — The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has warned that a $184.8 million funding shortfall could undermine ongoing efforts to develop vaccines against Bundibugyo virus and ensure equitable access to them.

CEPI raised the concern in a publication marking 100 days into the Bundibugyo response, saying significant progress had been made in developing potential countermeasures and laying the groundwork for equitable access, but that additional funding was urgently required.

The publication, released on Tuesday, is titled “100 Days into the Bundibugyo Emergency, Unprecedented Speed Is Still Not Enough.”

Advertisement

According to CEPI, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have jointly launched a Continental Preparedness and Response Plan requiring $518 million to support African countries and partners responding to the outbreak.

However, only $333.2 million had been disbursed under the plan, leaving a funding gap of $184.8 million, the organisation said.

CEPI warned that failure to secure additional funding could delay Phase Two/Three clinical trials and ultimately slow access to vaccines, potentially resulting in fewer lives being saved.

The organisation said its vaccine research and development goal was to advance at least two Bundibugyo virus vaccine candidates to Emergency Use Authorisation.

CEPI said achieving the target could help curb the current outbreak while strengthening the global pipeline of countermeasures against future Bundibugyo virus outbreaks.

Beyond vaccine development, CEPI said progress had been made towards ensuring that potential vaccines would be distributed equitably if approved.

Partners have identified draft priorities to guide fair allocation, including incorporating community engagement into clinical trial design, addressing indemnification and liability gaps, and ensuring displaced and refugee populations are included in vaccination plans.

Community Trust Remains a Challenge

CEPI also identified community trust as an urgent issue, particularly concerning how the use of the existing Ervebo Ebola vaccine could influence public perceptions of vaccines specifically developed against Bundibugyo virus.

The organisation said early coordination among CEPI, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF, supported by rapidly activated technical networks, had enabled the response to move faster in some areas than during the 2014–2016 West African Ebola outbreak.

The experience, CEPI said, demonstrated the importance of turning the 100 Days Mission into an operational reality by strengthening preparedness systems so they can be activated rapidly when future outbreaks occur.

“The 100 Days Mission must hold regardless of how an outbreak begins, and readiness assessments should reflect that,” the organisation said.

CEPI also cautioned against reducing investments in pandemic preparedness, stressing that institutions and response capabilities must be strengthened before the next health emergency emerges.

“We cannot allow this to happen. The world must invest in the institutions and capabilities that make us all safer, advancing preparedness and readiness to enable rapid surge in an outbreak response,” CEPI said.

The organisation further called for stronger coordination to ensure that progress achieved during the Bundibugyo response translates into faster and more equitable access to vaccines and other countermeasures for affected populations and for future outbreaks.