A ten-million-dollar pledge, and a vaccine race with no finish line yet. So how far apart are those two things, really? New to this story? Here's where it stands. The outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is caused by Bundibugyo virus, a rarer Ebola species with no approved vaccine or treatment. Africa CDC says early diagnostic kits couldn't detect it, so it spread for about five months before the outbreak was declared on May 15. It's since reached 63 health zones across seven provinces, and CEPI has redirected 100 million dollars toward vaccine work. This is Ebola Watch. The UAE just reopened to Ugandans and wrote a check. Does either move actually match what's still happening in Congo? Plus who's actually running in that vaccine race. Money first. The National writes:
The UAE has committed $10 million to combat the Ebola outbreak in Africa, as the country also lifted entry restrictions for Ugandan citizens after its outbreak was declared over. The pledge was announced during an international meeting convened by the US on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, where global leaders gathered to discuss the outbreak and co-ordinate the international response.
Lead item for anyone with a ticket booked: the UAE has lifted the entry restrictions it put on Ugandan citizens back in June, because Uganda's outbreak was officially declared over. So if you're routing through Entebbe, one Gulf door just reopened, while right next door, Congo's outbreak is still spreading. And that contrast matters. Uganda getting to 'declared over' meant a full countdown with no new cases. Congo's nowhere near starting that clock. Then there's the money. The UAE put up ten million dollars at that US-convened meeting on the UN sidelines, part of the same push Africa CDC tallied at two point nine billion. So now there's a named line item. About a third of one percent of the total, but hey, it's named. I'd push back a little on the ratio, Daniel. For me the route matters more than the size. The UAE Aid Agency says it's already moved more than a hundred and fifty tonnes of protective gear, infection-control supplies and food to roughly two hundred eighty health centres. So there's a supply chain already running. Okay, but a pledge in New York and a glove in North Kivu are a long way apart. They are. So the test for this ten million is simple: does it ride those same trucks, and does Kinshasa get a say in where they stop? Here's Katherine Leach-Kemon at Think Global Health:
There is still no approved vaccine against or treatment for the Ebola Bundibugyo virus to combat the outbreak. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is funding the development of five vaccine candidates through IAVI; Minapharm; Moderna; Public Health Vaccines, LLC; and the University of Oxford Serum Institute of India.
Okay, five actual names now. IAVI, Minapharm, Moderna, Public Health Vaccines LLC, and Oxford with the Serum Institute of India, all funded through CEPI. So if you've got a kid volunteering in eastern Congo, which one's closest to an arm? Nobody's crowning one yet. CEPI's Nicole Lurie walked Think Global Health through the science of which might come through first, and the piece is explicit: there's still no approved vaccine or treatment for Bundibugyo. A candidate is a candidate. Right, but North Kivu is up seventy-three percent in three weeks, per WHO. Five shots on goal beats one. So what actually stands between 'candidate' and a nurse in Butembo getting a dose? Efficacy trials, which, grimly, work best while transmission is active. Then manufacturing, then deciding who's first in line. And that UAE ten million we just covered reads like response-operations money. I'd want to see a single dollar of it land on these trials before anyone calls the pipeline funded. Got feedback, a story idea, or a correction for Ebola Watch? Email us at ebolawatch at lantern podcasts dot com. We'd love to hear from you.
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