Here’s how vaccine alliance Gavi committed to speed Ebola vaccine

Gavi, the vaccine alliance, has committed up to $50 million to accelerate the development and future supply of vaccines against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a virus for which no approved vaccine currently exists.

The funding package includes up to $40 million to support vaccine manufacturing and access, alongside $10 million for outbreak response efforts and the protection of routine immunisation services in affected countries.

"While we are some way off having a safe and effective vaccine against Bundibugyo virus, we need to act now to ensure that, once one or more vaccine candidates are ready, manufacturers are in a position to start producing doses at scale," said Dr Sania Nishtar, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi.

"Leveraging this allocation, Gavi will work closely with CEPI and partners to design the right incentives to achieve this goal, exploring all options including potential Advance Purchase Commitments," she added.

The funding will be channelled through Gavi's First Response Fund, which allows early investments in vaccines that are still under development. Gavi said the mechanism will help manufacturers of leading Bundibugyo vaccine candidates expand production capacity and prepare doses for rapid deployment if clinical trials are successful.

In the coming weeks, Gavi will work with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and UNICEF to finalise the financing mechanism. Options under consideration include advance purchase commitments and support for vaccine manufacturers through Gavi's African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator initiative.

The $10 million earmarked for outbreak response will support national response plans, help protect routine immunisation programmes, support healthcare workers and strengthen preparedness for the deployment of future vaccines.

Gavi has supported Ebola vaccination efforts since 2014 and currently funds the global Ebola vaccine stockpile, which contains 500,000 doses of Ervebo, a vaccine approved against the Zaire strain. The stockpile has been used in several outbreak-response campaigns, including a vaccination drive involving more than 47,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2025.

According to Gavi, a study published in BMJ Global Health in 2025 found that emergency vaccination campaigns reduced Ebola cases by 77% and deaths by 76% on average across seven outbreaks between 2018 and 2022.