By Julian Osamoto
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 affected Western countries.
Dr Kaseya made the allegation during an interview on Television’s program The Morning Brief on Thursday, arguing that the strain had attracted less international attention because it had caused fewer outbreaks than the Zaire strain.
“If this outbreak was in Western countries, vaccine would already be available,” he said.
He noted that some international partners had treated the vaccine gap as an African problem, contributing to the lack of an approved vaccine for 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,” Kaseya said.
The Africa CDC chief said the agency was responding by supporting efforts to develop and test vaccine candidates. He disclosed that an Egyptian manufacturer 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 also said 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.
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 prompt lasting changes in Africa’s preparedness, including increased local vaccine production, stronger coordination among international partners and greater domestic funding.
