GAVI COMMITS ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR EBOLA RESPONSE

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance will provide US$ 7 million to fund a shipment of 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine to DRC

• US$ 6 million from Gavi’s First Response Fund will help countries and partners protect routine immunisation and prepare for future Ebola vaccinations
• Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi: “This new funding will help save lives, keep other deadly diseases at bay and support the rollout of the Ervebo vaccine.”

Geneva, 20 August 2026 – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) has announced additional funding to support Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) outbreak response. New funding of US$7 million will be deployed to provide 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine through the global Ebola vaccine stockpile. A further US$ 6 million from Gavi’s First Response Fund has also been approved to help countries and partners protect broader immunisation services in high-risk areas and lay the groundwork for Ebola vaccination.

“This new funding will help save lives, keep other deadly diseases at bay and support the rollout of the Ervebo vaccine, which has shown promising signs in early data of offering protection against Bundibugyo,” said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “Given the severity of this outbreak, it is important every tool we have is brought to bear to prevent loss of life and ease suffering.”

Provision of doses from the global stockpile

The additional investment in Ervebo vaccines follows today’s decision by the International Coordination Group on Vaccine Provision (ICG) – which manages the use of Gavi-funded global vaccine stockpiles for outbreak response – to allocate an initial tranche of 70,000 Ervebo doses to DRC. The proven safety of the Ervebo vaccine, which has been successfully used to fight several Ebola Zaire outbreaks, along with early evidence that it could help reduce severe illness and deaths from BVD makes it an important tool to potentially save lives in what has now become the largest Ebola outbreak in DRC’s history.

With these vaccines readily available through the stockpile, deployment could happen rapidly, with administration based on guidance from the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (WHO SAGE).

Protecting routine immunisation and strengthening vaccine response

Gavi will provide US$ 6 million to protect immunisation services and prepare for Ebola vaccination, as part of a wider commitment of up to US$ 50 million through the Gavi First Response Fund made in May.

Of the total US$ 6 million, approximately US$ 4 million will help DRC ensure the continuity of immunisation services to more than 1.17 million children under the age of two across Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Tshopo and Haut-Uele provinces. This is vital given the experience of the West African Ebola epidemic, when the collapse of routine immunisation resulted in a comparable number of children dying from measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases. The funding will also help the DRC strengthen immunisation monitoring and reporting, and community engagement to maintain confidence in vaccination services.

Alongside funding to DRC, US$ 1.5 million from the FRF allocation will fund Africa CDC, WHO and UNICEF’s technical support to countries and the region. A further US$500,000 will be invested in strengthening routine immunisation and improving data systems in Uganda, as well as preparing for potential future Ebola vaccine deployment.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Details on the use of funding 

• Among other activities, the funding for DRC will enable mobile vaccination teams in highest-risk provinces to reach affected communities, providing vaccines, vitamin A and deworming, and help strengthen immunisation monitoring and reporting, as well as community engagement to maintain confidence in vaccination services. Protecting broader immunisation services is critical as insecurity, displacement, and fear of illness make it more difficult for caregivers to seek health services – leading to preventable deaths and increasing the risk of outbreaks of other infectious diseases.
• Similarly, the funding for Uganda will support the resilience of routine immunisation services and infrastructure in the areas at highest risk for BVD importation – while also strengthening community acceptance ahead of potential Ebola vaccination.
• The funding for Africa CDC, WHO and UNICEF will enable partners to provide technical support to the region, helping lay the foundation for an Ebola vaccine response. This includes areas such as BVD-related programmatic guidance, coordination, monitoring, reporting and learning; supply chain readiness; strengthening community trust and vaccine demand; and protecting routine immunisation and healthcare workers.

Key resources

• WHO TAG recommendation on BVD vaccine prioritisation – https://www.gavi.org/news/media-room/gavi-welcomes-recommendation-include-existing-ebola-vaccine-ervebo-clinical-trials
• WHO SAGE – https://www.who.int/groups/strategic-advisory-group-of-experts-on-immunization
• WHO Meuri Ethical Framework on use of unproven clinical interventions outside clinical trials during public health emergencies – https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240041745 
• How global emergency vaccine stockpiles work – https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/everything-you-need-know-about-global-emergency-vaccine-stockpiles

About the First Response Fund

• The First Response Fund was approved by the Gavi Board in June 2024 to provide immediate access to at-risk financing for vaccines in the event of major emergencies.
• Gavi has committed a total of US$50 million from the FRF to support accelerated access to BVD-specific vaccines, support vaccine response, and protect routine immunisation services in impacted countries.
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• FRF and its use in the mpox emergency response: Gavi delivers largest shipment yet to DRC in support of international mpox response

About the global Ebola vaccine stockpile

• During the deadly 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, no approved vaccines existed.
• Gavi stepped in and committed its support, with an Advance Purchase Commitment that made 300,000 investigational doses of the (then-candidate) Ervebo vaccine available for outbreak response. Gavi further committed to establishing and financing a global stockpile of Ebola vaccines, helping accelerate the pathway to WHO prequalification by ensuring a permanent market for the vaccine.
• After Ervebo received WHO approvals, the global stockpile was officially launched in 2021. It is funded by Gavi, with decisions around its use in outbreaks governed by the WHO Interagency Coordination Group on Vaccine Provision – a group that consists of WHO, UNICEF, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), with Gavi as an observer.
• The stockpile is maintained at 500,000 Ervebo doses, with some stock permanently pre-positioned in the DRC given the relatively high prevalence of outbreaks in the country.
• Like all Gavi-funded stockpiles, the vaccines can be used by any country in the world. Lower-income countries eligible for Gavi support receive doses for free, alongside financing for outbreak response vaccination activities, while other countries reimburse Gavi for the use of the vaccines.
• The global stockpile has been used to conduct four campaigns in response to Ebola Zaire outbreaks in the DRC – most recently in September 2025, when over 47,000 individuals were rapidly vaccinated. It has helped dramatically reduce cases and deaths, and bring Ebola outbreaks under control.

About preventive Ebola vaccination 

• In 2023, Gavi launched a preventive Ebola vaccination programme for the highest risk countries, in alignment with updated WHO guidance, and to make best use of available stockpile doses.
• Approximately 55,000 frontline workers in Ituri and North Kivu in the DRC have previously received Ervebo through preventive vaccination campaigns.
• Read more here: Preventive vaccination of frontline workers in Sierra Leone, a decade after the deadly 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisations that fund Gavi’s work here.

Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 1.2 billion children – and prevented more than 20.6 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 78 lower‑income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X and YouTube.