Gates Foundation: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 24 May 2026:
We are deeply concerned by the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak affecting communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones, the communities facing uncertainty, and the frontline health workers, laboratory teams, responders, and community volunteers working under extremely difficult conditions to protect lives.
No single country or institution can contain an outbreak alone, especially when there are risks of cross-border spread.
The governments of DRC and Uganda, together with Africa CDC, WHO, and regional partners, are leading critical efforts to contain the outbreak and strengthen regional preparedness and cross-border coordination.
We strongly support the “one plan, one budget, one team” African-led response partners have endorsed, focused on rapid containment and operational coordination.
The Gates Foundation is committing an initial $15 million in emergency funding to support this response through trusted institutions already working on the ground. The funding is designed to place the majority of resources as close to affected countries and communities as possible:
- $5 million to Africa CDC for regional coordination, rapid deployment, and cross-border surveillance;
- $5 million to WHO AFRO for frontline operational support to countries; and
- $5 million to WHO Headquarters to support rapid procurement, diagnostics, and surge logistics for critical response commodities.
The foundation also supports collaboration between Africa CDC and WHO AFRO through the Joint Emergency Action Plan (JEAP), a framework designed to strengthen coordination and provide governments with more unified emergency support during health crises.
This outbreak underscores the importance of leveraging that partnership so countries receive coordinated and timely support rather than fragmented parallel responses.
The foundation continues to support the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, including through our funding to CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
However, because there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for Bundibugyo Ebola, the immediate priority is rapid detection, strong public health measures, protection of frontline workers, and coordinated action to stop transmission as quickly as possible.
In an outbreak, every day matters. Early coordination and rapid action are the difference between containment and wider regional spread. We will continue working closely with governments, Africa CDC, WHO, and other partners to monitor the evolving situation and assess where additional support may be needed in the coming weeks.
In another development, with Gavi’s African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA) expected to make its first cash disbursement to an African vaccine manufacturer in the second half of 2026, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance last week proposed further measures totalling US$189 million of additional investment to further aid development of Africa’s vaccine manufacturing sector.
The measures, named AVMA+, are slated to be presented to Gavi’s Board in July.
AVMA+ has been designed to provide additional support in two key areas, firstly addressing specific regulatory and market entry bottlenecks that are acting as a brake on investment and secondly by providing guaranteed demand to African producers by directly purchasing up to 70 million doses of African-manufactured vaccines, following competitive tender processes, once those vaccines reach the market.
“In its first 18 months, AVMA has made remarkable progress, helping secure thirteen individual technology transfer agreements that have led to commercial-scale manufacturing facilities being built in six African countries,” said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
“As our manufacturing partners continue down the pathway towards prequalification and full commercialisation, we believe that the new investments enabled by AVMA+ will accelerate the timelines for when African demand for vaccines will be met by local production. This is the right thing to do for Africa’s economic development and it is the right thing to do for our global health security.”
COVID-19 laid bare the cost to Africa of relying on imported vaccines. With only 0.1% of global production in spite of the fact that the continent is home to 20% of the world’s population, it found itself at the back of the queue in attempts to secure vaccines during the pandemic.
AVMA, which was launched in 2024, was designed in close collaboration with the African Union and Africa CDC to ensure such a situation never arises again by helping manufacturers to offset the upfront costs of bringing a vaccine by making a total of US$ 1 billion in incentives available for manufacturers that hit critical regulatory and supply milestones.
With thirteen individual technology transfer agreements already signed between African manufacturers and global partners, and with US$ 3 billion in additional financing mobilised since AVMA’s launch in 2024, it is possible that the first AVMA-supported, Africa-manufactured vaccines could be deployed as early as 2027.
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