Thanks to a new program approved by the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, last week, a global emergency stockpile of Ebola vaccines will be funded and opened for use by those in need of outbreak and prevention efforts.
Gavi intends to pump $178 million into the program through 2025, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. Those nations will have access to the stockpile free of charge and will also receive support for the operational costs of vaccination campaigns. While wealthier nations can access the vaccine stockpile, they will have to self-finance for its use.
“This is a historic milestone in humanity’s fight against this horrific disease,” Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chair of the Gavi Board, said. “Just five years ago, we faced an Ebola outbreak in West Africa with no vaccine and no way to treat the disease. Today, thanks to the heroic efforts of countless patients, health workers, scientists, manufacturers, donors, partners as well as the leadership of African countries, we now have one vaccine approved for use and more on their way, as well as rapid diagnostics and several promising treatments. With these tools at our disposal, the battle against Ebola can be won, and I’m proud of the role Gavi has played in this.”
Recommendations from the World Health Organization’s SAGE Working Group on Ebola Vaccines and Vaccinations state that the stockpile should maintain 500,000 licensed doses of vaccines. There are currently eight candidate Zaire Ebolavirus vaccines at different phases in the development process.
“The Ebola vaccine has shown extraordinary efficacy in tackling the outbreak in the DRC,” Gavi CEO Seth Berkley said. “This achievement demonstrates the Alliance at its best. Now that funding has been approved, we will get to work with manufacturers and our Alliance partners to build the stockpile. It will be critical for Gavi to secure enough funding for the 2021-2025 period to maintain this Ebola vaccine programme in order to protect people, health systems, and economies that may be threatened by this devastating disease in the future.”
In addition to the stockpile, Gavi will support targeted preventative vaccination for high-risk populations in at-risk countries outside of outbreak scenarios. Gavi will also allocate another $1.6 million in funding for the RTS,S malaria vaccine implementation program from 2021-2023. Earlier this year, the malaria vaccine was introduced into three African nations: Ghana, Malawi, and Kenya. The Gavi pilot program intends to evaluate the feasibility of delivering four doses of RTS,S through childhood vaccination clinics, along with its safety and efficacy in reducing childhood deaths. The goal of the program is to vaccinate 360,000 children per year in the three nations.