Africa: Strengthening Africa's Outbreak-Ready Evidence Generation Capabilities

What the report says

CEPI said on 26 October 2026 in Oslo that it will provide up to US$8.2 million in additional support for partners leading the West Africa part of its Research Preparedness Program. The new funding goes to the International Vaccine Institute and the MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM, which are helping implement Africa CDC’s hub-and-spoke clinical trial model.

The announcement was tied to a launch event in Accra on 22 October convened by Africa CDC, the African Medicines Agency, WHO AFRO and CEPI. The model is meant to connect established research hubs with nearby trial sites in outbreak-prone areas, so countries can move more quickly from routine research to emergency evidence generation during epidemics and pandemics. The first phase will focus on West Africa, with the plan to extend the network later to other parts of the continent.

According to the organisations involved, the initiative is intended to improve Africa’s ability to produce clinical evidence on its own soil, while also strengthening regulatory and research coordination across borders. CEPI said the latest allocation brings its total commitment to the program to US$28.8 million, mostly for sites in West Africa, with some support also going to East and Central Africa.

The wider context is Africa’s repeated exposure to infectious disease outbreaks and the need for clinical trial capacity that can be activated quickly. As reported by Africa CDC, the effort is linked to CEPI’s 100 Days Mission and to broader goals of building sustainable, interoperable research systems for vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.