Day: December 9, 2022

The first doses of one of the three candidate vaccines against Sudan ebolavirus arrived in Uganda yesterday. These will be evaluated in a clinical trial called the Solidarity Against Ebola or Tokomeza Ebola.

The arrival of the 1200 doses of candidate vaccines just 79 days after the outbreak was declared on 20 September marks a historical milestone in the global capacity to respond to outbreaks. To start Phase 3 trials in Guinea during the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2015, it was 7 months from declaration to arrival of vaccines. This was a great achievement and set historical records at the time. That trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of vaccines against the Zaire ebolavirus—the one responsible for the West Africa outbreak and more recently, outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But there are no licensed vaccines against the Sudan ebolavirus species responsible for the current outbreak in Uganda, thus the need for the current trial.

“Uganda is showing that life-saving research can be promptly organized in the midst of an outbreak,” said Dr Jane Ruth Aceng Acero, Uganda’s Minister of Health. “We will continue to fight the outbreak using the effective tools we already have, which are rapid surveillance to find cases, contact tracing teams identifying those who have been exposed, health workers providing care to those who are sick with the virus, and engaging the community throughout the response, but having a vaccine for this and future outbreaks is important.”

The vaccine is one of the three candidates that were recommended for the trial by an independent WHO expert panel: Sabin Institute’s ChAd3-SUDV. The other two, cAdOx1 biEBOV from Oxford University/Jenner Institute/Serum Institute of India and Merck/IAVI’s SV-SUDV, will be added to the trial when doses arrive.

The trial is led by Uganda’s Makerere University and co-sponsored by the Ministry of Health and WHO. WHO worked with the Ugandan government and researchers to design the protocol for the trial, ensure regulatory and ethical processes were speedy, to train research teams and to install the cold chain that will preserve the vaccines at optimal temperature.

“The arrival of candidate vaccines in country less than 100 days since the outbreak was declared is the result of a global effort coordinated by WHO. Every time we work together to assess vaccines quickly, we improve. This has benefits now and into the future,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “These aren’t trial runs: these are optimizing the system for the next disease threat.”

Achieving this milestone is the result of previous preparation, such as WHO’s research and development blueprint which aligns researchers and others on priority areas of research. The milestone is also the result of investments from the US (including through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority), the UK and other governments, and a no-regrets approach, which saw WHO bring together the Government of Uganda, vaccine researchers, manufacturers, funders, regulatory officials, and others. Manufacturers got vaccines into vials in record time, with sufficient doses of the candidate vaccines for the trial and potentially beyond.

In an equally speedy and collaborative approach, several partners including CEPI, the Government of Canada, the EU’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response department, and WHO have allocated funds to facilitate the trial implementation. Other partners are also considering their contributions.

“This trial is a significant and promising step towards possible protection against the Sudan ebolavirus with African researchers taking a leading role. It showcases the power of scientific research on our continent and how working in collaboration with international partners we can develop critical tools that will limit the lethal effect of Ebola,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

“We have recruited and trained 9 research teams ready to be deployed in the districts where the trial will take place.” Professor Bruce Kirenga, the Principal Investigator for the vaccine trial.

“We hope that through the trial we will provide sufficient information to know how effective one or more of the candidate vaccines are, although it will take time to gather quality data,” Dr Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, the WHO Representative in Uganda. “We are working hand in hand with all partners involved to ensure that the trial will be delivered to high scientific and ethical standards.”

Since the outbreak was declared, the country has recorded a total of 142 confirmed cases and 55 deaths in nine districts, as of 5 December. Early diagnosis and treatment of cases have been critical in curbing infections, in addition to improved disease surveillance and contact tracing, infection, prevention and control as well as mobilizing communities to support the response.

There have been no new Ebola cases reported since 27 November. Contacts of recently confirmed cases will be invited to participate in the trial, which is designed to be implemented using a ring vaccination design.

Source: World Health Organization

(New York, 9 December 2022): With humanitarian needs reaching unprecedented levels, top United Nations officials today spotlighted the critical role of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in supporting the least-resourced emergencies and responding rapidly to crises at its annual pledging event.

“CERF is a United Nations success story,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at today’s event. “In crises around the world, CERF gives people a lifeline of hope.”

For 2023, 39 donors today announced contributions of US$409 million for CERF, falling just short of the $467.7 million pledged at last year’s event.

Additional funding is anticipated during 2023, with several donors announcing today that pledges are forthcoming.

So far this year, CERF has allocated more than $700 million to support millions of people who need urgent assistance in some 40 countries. This included kick-starting operations in Ukraine the same day it was invaded by Russia, as well as rapidly responding to weather-related emergencies, including in Cuba, which was pummeled by Hurricane Ian in September, and in Pakistan, which experienced devasting floods and landslides that same month.

In 2022, CERF also provided $200 million to address worsening food insecurity in the most-affected countries, as well as $250 million towards critically underfunded humanitarian operations in 23 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East. Ahead of projected climate-related shocks, CERF helped to prevent suffering and preserve livelihoods in places such as Nepal, before the country experienced peak flooding.

The recently released Global Humanitarian Overview reveals that 339 million people will need emergency assistance in 2023, the highest number ever recorded. This is 65 million more people than in 2022 – a 25 per cent increase.

“We all face difficult economic times,” said the Secretary-General at today’s event. “But the most vulnerable people are hit hardest. CERF is the tried and tested way to help them.” CERF has an annual funding target of $1 billion, as agreed by Member States, but the resources received are nowhere near that level.

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, thanked donors for their generosity, noting that the high level of humanitarian needs outstrip the resources available. “Next year must be the year of solidarity,” he stressed at the closing of today’s pledging event.

Since its inception 16 years ago, CERF has helped hundreds of millions of people with more than $8 billion in more than 110 countries and territories.

Panelists at today’s event included Finland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto; Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar; Somalia’s Special Envoy for Drought Response and Humanitarian Affairs, Abdirahman Andishakur Warsame; and Suhaila Noori, Executive Director of the Skills Training and Rehabilitation Society of Afghanistan.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

In recent weeks, Ugandan media has been awash once again with reports of armed men linked to the state security forces kidnapping people and taking them to unknown locations, where they have no access to lawyers or family.

On November 28, three men in civilian clothes accosted Yahya Mwanje, a Muslim cleric, outside a Kampala mosque and drove off with him in a Toyota HiAce van, locally known as “Drones.” That same day in Kampala, plainclothes men picked up opposition politician and former presidential candidate Joseph Kabuleta inside his office and took him away in a Drone to an unknown destination.

Mwanje and Kabuleta were later revealed to have been detained by security forces: Mwanje by the military, while two days later police charged Kabuleta with “promoting sectarianism.”

Many other people, mostly opposition supporters, remain missing.

On November 29, the National Unity Platform, Uganda’s main opposition political party, reported to the Uganda Human Rights Commission that 25 of its supporters have been missing since as far back as 2020. Six of them, the party said, had been abducted in various locations in Kampala in November by a man in military uniform and three armed men in civilian clothes.

In March, Human Rights Watch published a report documenting years of similar arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances, and the use of illegal detention centers by Ugandan security officers. These abuses escalated in the two months before the January 2021 general elections and continued for several months afterwards. At the time, security forces arbitrarily arrested and forcibly disappeared critics of the government, opposition leaders and supporters, and alleged protesters.

In June, Human Rights Watch presented these findings personally to President Yoweri Museveni. He pledged to hold the perpetrators accountable and to look into the case of Frank “Kaka” Bagyenda, the former director of the Internal Security Organisation, who we found played a central role in such abductions and unlawful detentions. But since that meeting, there has been no indication that steps are being taken to hold Bagyenda or any other alleged perpetrators to account for these crimes.

The government’s failure to investigate these abuses and hold errant security officers to account has only emboldened them to continue. Instead of merely making promises, Museveni’s government should take concrete steps to ensure that victims of enforced disappearance and their families receive justice.

Source: Human Rights Watch