Stepping up the fight against Ebola: €6 million of EU funding to support vaccine trials

The European Commission announced a €6 million contribution to a vaccination trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The funding comes from the EU’s research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020, which supported the development of the new vaccine.

The announcement comes as the Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues to spread in the east of the country with a high risk of a spillover into neighbouring countries and complementary actions are being taken to contain and eliminate this threat.

Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management and EU Ebola Coordinator, said: “As Ebola continues to spread, we must fight the disease on all fronts. Vaccination is a key part of these efforts. The EU is committed to supporting the World Health Organisation and DRC authorities in their efforts to combat the outbreak.”Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, added: “We must and we can win the fight against Ebola. We have the resources. The EU has supported the new Ebola vaccine development and we are now rolling out the clinical study in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Together we will put an end to this epidemic once and for all.”

The European Union has provided wide-ranging support to fight the disease since the outbreak was first declared in 2018, including humanitarian assistance, sending experts to the affected areas, mobilising the EU humanitarian air service ECHO flight and supporting the health sector in the country.

The EU will support the critical clinical study in the DRC through an existing agreement with The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). A consortium of partners, which includes the Government of DRC, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), CEPI, Johnson and Johnson, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the Wellcome Trust and Epicentre, have cooperated to prepare the study.