Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya has attributed the absence of an approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola to a lack of international interest, stating that the situation would likely be different if the outbreak occurred in Western countries.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Dr Kaseya emphasized the urgent need for increased African investment in vaccine research and manufacturing to reduce reliance on outside partners during public health emergencies.

"I can tell you, if this outbreak was in Western countries, vaccine will already be available. Why this vaccine today is not available? Because some of our partners decided to consider this issue as an African issue, they were not interested," he said.

The Africa CDC head noted that the continent possesses the necessary expertise and infrastructure to develop and manufacture medical countermeasures independently.

"We don't want to see Africa left behind. We have the knowledge, we have people with intelligence, we have capacity to manufacture vaccines, and we need to move on," he stated.

To close these gaps, the agency is supporting clinical trials, with a manufacturer in Egypt currently testing a potential vaccine candidate against the Bundibugyo strain.

The agency is also working with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to explore clinical trials and the compassionate use of Ervebo, a vaccine originally developed for the Zaire strain. Additionally, twenty-eight African countries have contributed domestic funding to support the public health response.

The Bundibugyo strain currently lacks any licensed vaccine or approved specific treatment. The outbreak, which was declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2026, has caused more than 9,000 confirmed cases and 4,381 deaths according to health authorities.

The virus has also spread across borders, with Kenya reporting its ninth case recently. Nigeria confirmed its first imported case of Bundibugyo Ebola in the Federal Capital Territory on October 20, involving a patient with a recent travel history to Uganda.

In response, health authorities have successfully identified and placed forty-four contacts under medical monitoring.

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