Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya says international partners have paid insufficient attention to developing a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
The Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jean Kaseya, has accused international partners of neglecting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, saying a vaccine might already be available if the disease were affecting Western countries.
Kaseya made the allegation during an interview on Television’s program The Morning Brief on Thursday, arguing that the strain had received less attention partly because it had caused fewer outbreaks than the Zaire strain.
“If this outbreak was in Western countries, vaccine would already be available,” he said.
Kaseya said some international partners had treated the vaccine gap as an African problem, contributing to the lack of an approved vaccine against the strain.
“Why this vaccine today is not available? Because some of our partners, they decided to consider this issue as an African issue, they were not interested,” he said.
He said Africa CDC was taking a more active role in addressing the gap, including supporting clinical trials of potential vaccines.
Kaseya disclosed that an African manufacturer in Egypt was conducting clinical trials of a potential vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain.
The agency was also working with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to make Ervebo, a vaccine developed against the Zaire strain, available for clinical trials and compassionate use.
Kaseya said the efforts were part of a broader push to strengthen Africa’s capacity to develop and manufacture vaccines, medicines and diagnostic tools.
He added that 28 African countries had contributed funds towards the outbreak response, describing the support as a sign of growing continental commitment to financing public health emergencies.
“We don’t want to see again Africa left behind. We have the knowledge, we have people with intelligence, we have capacity to manufacture vaccine. We need to move on,” he said.
Kaseya said the outbreak should prompt lasting changes in Africa’s preparedness, including increased local vaccine production, stronger coordination among international partners and greater domestic funding.
Nigeria confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola in the Federal Capital Territory on October 20. The patient, a woman who had recently travelled from Uganda, was receiving medical care, while health authorities identified 44 contacts for monitoring.
Kaseya said the outbreak should mark a turning point in Africa’s ability to develop vaccines and respond to future public health emergencies.
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