The World Health Organisation has admitted that an effective Ebola vaccine is still nine months from deployment, as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to claim lives. Sources inside the agency confirm that the timeline for a fully licensed vaccine remains distant, despite escalating calls for urgent action.
Documents obtained by this bureau reveal that the WHO's own internal assessments project at least 270 days before any vaccine can be approved for widespread use. That is a lifetime in outbreak terms. The death toll in North Kivu province has already surpassed 1,000, with new cases emerging faster than response teams can contain them.
This is not a failure of science. It is a failure of coordination and political will. The vaccine in question, developed by Merck, has shown efficacy in clinical trials but has not yet secured full regulatory approval. The WHO insists that a system of 'compassionate use' is in place, allowing limited access to frontline workers. But that is a bandage on a haemorrhage.
I have spoken to doctors in Beni, the epicentre of the current outbreak. They describe a scene of chaos. Contamination teams are overwhelmed. Safe burials are backlogged. And the vaccine? It is sitting in freezers, waiting for paperwork.
The WHO's own protocol demands a 'ring vaccination' strategy, where contacts of confirmed cases are immunised. But without a licensed vaccine, the supply chain is fragile. One source, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, told me: 'We are running a disaster response with one hand tied behind our backs.'
The money trail raises its own questions. The WHO's emergency fund for this outbreak is chronically underfunded. Member states have pledged just a fraction of the $148 million requested. Meanwhile, the global pharmaceutical industry continues to prioritise profit over pandemic preparedness. Merck has committed to supplying doses at cost, but the bureaucratic machinery grinds slowly.
This is not simply a Congolese tragedy. It is a global failure. The virus does not respect borders, and the longer it circulates, the greater the risk of a wider conflagration. Neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda have already fortified border screenings, but such measures are only as strong as the weakest link.
There are those who will tell you that nine months is a remarkable achievement in vaccine development. They will cite the years it normally takes to bring a product to market. That is true in a laboratory. In a crisis, it is an indictment.
The WHO must cut through the red tape. Governments must open their coffers. And the people of the DRC must not be left to wait while the world convenes yet another committee.
As one weary aid worker put it: 'We do not have nine months. The dead do not have nine months.'
