Mr Gates said the foundation’s work over the past 20 years has shown that early investment in research and development can save lives and prevent worst-case scenarios.
As part of efforts to prevent future pandemics, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Wellcome, a global charitable foundation, have pledged 150 million dollars each to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
CEPI is a partnership launched five years ago by the two charitable foundations, the governments of Norway and India, and the World Economic Forum.
The foundations made the pledge ahead of a global conference to support CEPI’s five-year plan to better prepare for, prevent, and equitably respond to future epidemics and pandemics.
“As the world responds to the challenge of a rapidly evolving virus, the need to deliver new, lifesaving tools has never been more urgent,” Bill Gates, co-chair of BMGF said on Thursday.
Mr Gates said the foundation’s work over the past 20 years has shown that early investment in research and development can save lives and prevent worst-case scenarios.
“Five years ago, following the Ebola and Zika epidemics, our foundation helped launch CEPI. Today we’re increasing our commitment and pledging an additional $150 million to help CEPI accelerate the development of safe and effective vaccines against emerging variants of the coronavirus and to prepare for, and possibly even prevent, the next pandemic,” he said.
Lessons from COVID-19
The director of Wellcome, Jeremy Farrar, said the overriding lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic is the need for effective organisations and systems to be in place and ready before a crisis breaks out.
Mr Farrar said organisations and countries must act rapidly, based on well-established science, when such crises inevitably occur.
He said the foundation has also learned the importance of conducting high-quality research during a crisis.
“Since then, CEPI has worked tirelessly, and by fostering global collaboration, It has played a truly integral role in the global pandemic response from early January 2020 onwards.
“Our new commitment of 150 million dollars recognises the enormous potential CEPI has to protect lives against emerging infectious diseases,” he said.
Mr Farrar noted that the effects of COVID-19 have been sobering hence the need to be prepared for future epidemics and pandemics.
He urged global leaders to provide their support and ensure that CEPI reaches its funding target.
“It is in the world’s collective interest to avoid repeating mistakes and to help future generations prevent epidemics,” he said.
Supporting CEPI
In her remarks, the minister of state to the president of the Republic of Senegal, Awa Seck, said the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how inequitable access to vaccines can put the entire planet at risk and disrupt decades of global health progress.
Ms Seck said innovative global partnerships like CEPI play a critical role in advancing the research and development needed to prevent future pandemics.
“Importantly, those investments in vaccine technology, particularly in Africa, can also help accelerate progress against other diseases–like HIV, TB, and malaria–that still affect the world’s most vulnerable populations,” she said.
She said recent data from Northeastern University shows that the availability of vaccines in lower-income countries like Kenya could have averted 70 per cent of COVID-19 deaths.
“The world must do better at protecting everyone, everywhere against the greatest health threats–from COVID-19 and beyond,” said Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation.
Mrs Gates also calls on global leaders to help CEPI reach its funding target of 3.5 billion dollars.
About CEPI
According to the statement, since its inception, CEPI has played a central scientific role in curbing epidemics around the world, overseeing a number of scientific breakthroughs and putting pandemic preparedness at the centre of the global health R&D agenda.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, CEPI responded immediately, building one of the world’s largest and most diverse portfolios of COVID-19 vaccine candidates–14 in all, including six of which continue to receive funding, and three of which have been granted emergency use listing by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
CEPI made early investments in the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which is now saving lives around the world.
The statement reads in part; “Last month, Novavax’s protein-based COVID-19 vaccine–funded largely by CEPI–received WHO emergency use listing and is poised to help efforts to control the pandemic globally.
“More than one billion doses of the Novavax vaccine are now available to COVAX, the global initiative co-led by CEPI that aims to deliver equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
“CEPI also continues to work on next-generation COVID-19 vaccines, including “variant-proof” COVID-19 vaccines and shots that could protect against all coronaviruses, potentially removing the threat of future coronavirus pandemics.”
The United Kingdom will host CEPI’s replenishment conference on March 8, 2022, in London.
The statement added that the fundraising event will convene governments, philanthropists, and other donors to support CEPI’s five-year plan to tackle the risk of pandemics and epidemics, potentially preventing millions of deaths and trillions of dollars in economic damage.