On the opening day, i3 announced 3 new transformative deals between leading African healthtech startups and global manufacturers, collaborations that will advance cervical cancer prevention, pharmacy-based access, and malaria care.

MSD and MYDAWA unveiled a collaboration aimed at supporting MYDAWA in enhancing their concierge channel services to strengthen efforts related to cervical cancer elimination.

Through this initiative, MYDAWA will expand access to health-related services, such as at-home and in-clinic options, supported by online booking tools and educational counselling. MSD’s contribution focuses on business and technical expertise, which demonstrates how a collaboration between regional and global innovators can develop new healthcare solutions to people through novel, patient-centered models that help reduce barriers to accessing healthcare.

This initiative is centered on improving access to information and services. It does not involve the supply, promotion or distribution of any vaccines or medicinal products that are not registered.

“We’re excited to support MYDAWA in improving access to healthcare, powered by purpose and technology. Together, we’re meeting communities where they are, forging new paths for patient access and creating health markets. This is how we break down barriers across Africa, through collaborations that enable sustainable and scalable solutions,” said Dr. Priya Agrawal, Vice President, International Health Equity and Partnerships, MSD.

A Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria’s National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) under the Federal Ministry of Health, and Sproxil to combat malaria by improving access to diagnostics and treatments.

The partnership leverages Sproxil’s test-to-treat model and AI-powered malaria surveillance to provide real-time data from pharmacies and patent medicine vendors, enabling collaboration with pharmaceutical manufacturers and giving NMEP insights to track distribution, monitor disease patterns, and ensure accountability.

This initiative supports Nigeria’s targets of reducing malaria prevalence to below 10% and malaria-related deaths to under 50 per 1,000 live births.

Commenting on the partnership with PVAC and NMEP, Dr. Ashifi Gogo, CEO and Founder of Sproxil said:

“We are honored to partner with Nigeria’s National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and the Presidential Initiative For Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) in deploying AI-enhanced surveillance infrastructure that transforms every consumer product verification into timely epidemiological intelligence. This partnership demonstrates that African-led solutions, when properly supported, can drive continental health transformation while ensuring affordable anti-malarials reach the children and families who need them most.”

• Boehringer Ingelheim’s Social Engagement Fund celebrated recent investments in 3 companies driving the future of pharmacy across Africa: Dawa Mkononi (a member of the latest i3 cohort), Kasha, and Reach52.

“We are delighted to invest in three additional startups that deliver a strong impact to communities across Africa,” says Dr. Ilka Wicke, Head of Sustainability Social. “These partnerships reflect our belief that sustainable healthcare solutions are best built through collaboration – with local innovators who understand the needs on the ground and with global partners who can help scale their vision. Together, we’re making meaningful progress toward our goal of improving the lives of 50 million people by 2030. We’re thrilled to celebrate progress with our partners who share this vision across the i3 program.”

Since July, i3 has been working closely with leading innovators focused on the future of pharmacy care in Africa – Chefaa, Dawa Mkononi, Meditect, mPharma, MYDAWA, Sproxil and Zuri Health–  completing more than 110 bespoke introductions to customers and investors, generating 15 partnerships with a potential value exceeding $20 million.

At an unprecedented pace of more than one advancing partnership per week, i3 continues to deliver best-in-class growth advisory support to African healthtech innovators.

This year’s A2M brought together 15 leading African healthtech startups, whose innovations already power more than 66,000 healthcare providers across 12 African countries and are on track to reach over 167,000 providers by 2028, demonstrating a powerful channel for improving patient access and strengthening health systems.

A2M also convened 41 prominent investors, global and regional pharmaceutical manufacturers, donors, development finance institutions, and multilateral agencies, including Grand Challenges Canada, IFC, World Bank, Pfizer, Causal Foundry, Proqurable, Federal Ministry of Health, PVAC, and i3’s sponsors, who are all working to accelerate scalable innovations, create jobs, and expand healthcare impact across the continent.

“Leading healthtech startups are an increasingly powerful force across Africa, reshaping the continent’s healthcare landscape. Through Access to Markets, these innovators are linked with strategic, high-impact partners across industry, government, donors, and global health agencies, enabling them to better scale their solutions. This approach is rapidly delivering tangible results, as evidenced by the more than 100 meetings being held at this year’s event and the 3 deals announced today,” said Oladunni Lawal, Investing in Innovation Lead.

The event program also includes senior government participation, notably keynote speaker Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, National Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Chain, and Dr. Leke Ojewale, Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister of Health for Nigeria.

Through initiatives like A2M, i3 is helping build a sustainable, digitally enabled future for African healthcare–one where locally led innovation, supported by global and regional partnerships, drives lasting impact at scale. i3 is supported by dedicated sponsors – the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora, Endless Health, HELP Logistics, Sanofi, and Boehringer Ingelheim.

The 2025 Bootcamp marked another defining milestone in DSN’s bold mission to train one million AI talents within ten years and position Africa as a global hub for inclusive and sustainable technological innovation.

This year’s edition attracted over 32,000 applications from across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, a record that underscores the growing national appetite for AI capacity development and the trust DSN has earned as the continent’s foremost AI learning and research non-profit.

Through a rigorous multi-stage process that assessed technical aptitude, problem-solving potential, and collaborative mindset, only 150 of the most outstanding learners emerged as finalists and were invited to the fully residential, all-expenses-paid Bootcamp hosted at the University of Lagos.

The Bootcamp’s curriculum was designed to deliver an end-to-end learning experience that merged technical depth with social impact. Participants explored cutting-edge themes such as Generative and Agentic AI, Geospatial Intelligence, Digital Public Infrastructure, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Responsible AI.

The training followed a structured model that progressed from foundational sessions to advanced project development, enabling participants to transition quickly from concept to deployable prototypes with real-world relevance.

The approach reflected DSN’s enduring philosophy of “learning, building, and sharing,” ensuring that every participant not only gained world-class knowledge but also understood how to apply it toward solving Africa’s most pressing challenges.

The Bootcamp was powered by a strong coalition of global partners and industry leaders, including Microsoft, Meta, MTN, Google DeepMind, Boaz Integrated Energy, Hyperspace, NVIDIA, NitHub, EqualyzAI, TechCabal, Askya Investment, the Fintech Association of Nigeria, and the University of Lagos. These organizations brought together expertise, resources, and mentorship, making the programme a world-class experience.

In all, 32 renowned experts from across the globe facilitated technical and strategy sessions, drawing from institutions such as the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Mastercard Foundation, Access Holdings Plc, Interswitch Group, MTN, PwC, PIC, ARM, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, WorldPop, and the University of Southampton.

Among the high points of the Bootcamp were the masterclasses delivered by some of the most respected voices in technology and development.

Dr. Uyi Stewart, Chief Data and Technology Officer at Data.org, shared an inspiring keynote on “AI for Inclusive Growth,” emphasizing how data and technology can accelerate social progress.

Olubunmi Okunowo and Toyosi Odukoya led an engaging session on how open-source frameworks and Digital Public Infrastructure can enable national development and inclusive service delivery.

Dr. Chris Nnanatu’s presentation on “Powering Africa’s Growth with Location Intelligence” highlighted the transformative power of geospatial data for economic and environmental planning.

Collectively, these sessions underscored the thematic focus of this year’s Bootcamp, that Africa’s future in AI must be both inclusive and indigenous, built on solutions that reflect local realities and global best practices.

Beyond classroom learning, the participants participated in a high-impact Hackathon designed to convert theory into tangible solutions.

Working in multidisciplinary teams, the learners tackled real-world problems across healthcare, agriculture, financial inclusion, and public service delivery sectors.

One of the most inspiring moments came from EqualyzAI, a DSN-incubated startup, which showcased its pioneering work on localizing Small Language Models (SLMs) for African languages.

The demonstration aligned with DSN’s ongoing work in AI for social good and reflected the broader vision of building equitable digital futures for Africa’s linguistically diverse population.

The Bootcamp culminated in an awards ceremony celebrating excellence, creativity, and community spirit.

The DSN Community at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) emerged as the AI School of the Year, a recognition sponsored by Boaz Integrated Energy and Hyperspace, and received a $1,000 grant to establish a mini AI library that will serve as a lasting legacy of continuous learning on campus.

Individual awards also highlighted exceptional performance: the Mr. & Ms. Algorithm Awards, sponsored by Microsoft, celebrated participants who demonstrated commitment and core values of DSN Community; Best Academic Poster, sponsored by Google DeepMind; Best Hackathon Project, sponsored by MTN Foundation; and Best Project Participation, also supported by Microsoft, all rewarded brilliance and consistency with tiered cash prizes.

In addition, every participant received a Microsoft-sponsored certification voucher, a tangible step that enhances employability and global recognition in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Throughout the Bootcamp, industry partners played a visible role not only as sponsors but as co-educators, mentors, and advocates for inclusive innovation.

Their contributions underscored a shared belief that Africa’s competitiveness in the global digital economy depends on collective investment in human capital and home-grown innovation.

The partnership between DSN and Microsoft continued to provide the foundational bridge between learning and opportunity, through advanced skilling, access to certification, and exposure to real-world AI applications.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Olubayo Adekanmbi, Data Science Nigeria’s founder and chief executive officer, reflected on the transformative journey of the AI Bootcamp since its inception.

He described the 2025 edition as reaffirming the belief that Africa’s future will not be imported but intelligently built by its people.

He urged participants to act as ambassadors of knowledge, extend the mentorship culture, and replicate the Bootcamp’s impact within their local communities.

“We have built not just coders but catalysts, people who will use AI to solve Africa’s most pressing challenges,” he said. “As you have freely received, freely give.”

The 8th Data Science Nigeria AI Bootcamp is a powerful testament to the potential of strategic collaboration, purposeful learning, and inclusive access.

It represents a generation of young innovators equipped with technical competence and a shared vision of using AI as a tool for national transformation and global relevance.

As the participants return to their campuses, startups, and communities, they carry the collective energy of an ecosystem determined to make AI work for all, ensuring that Africa’s intelligence revolution remains open, inclusive, and transformative.

The grant will be deployed as a matching fund, providing a 1:1 match on government procurement of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) commodities through the Axmed Medicines Platform.

The grant is expected to unlock up to $10 million in MNCH procurement across a selection of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

It aims to strengthen national procurement capacity by offering Ministries of Health near-term liquidity, access to quality-assured MNCH commodities, and the benefits of pooled procurement and aggregated demand – driving both cost-efficiency and supply security.

The initiative was announced during a high-level roundtable held alongside the 78th World Health Assembly, which convened Ministers of Health, national procurement leads, and representatives from key multilateral organizations and philanthropic partners.

“Reducing the number of preventable deaths of mothers and babies is key to our work in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Cynthia Mwase, director of Health, Africa, Gates Foundation. “This partnership with Axmed and local health leaders is an important step forward in ensuring that life-saving innovations reach the communities where they can make the greatest difference – so that more families can experience healthy pregnancies, safe births, and strong starts to life.”

Addressing Persistent Gaps in Medicines Access

Every year, 287,000 women die from pregnancy and childbirth complications, and 2.3 million newborns die in their first month—despite the availability of proven, cost-effective interventions. Weak procurement systems, constrained budgets, and fragmented supply chains continue to limit access to essential MNCH commodities across low-resource settings.

The current global liquidity crunch, coupled with reductions in donor funding, has made it harder for governments to secure the medicines they need. This grant responds to that challenge—unlocking immediate financing while enabling longer-term procurement reforms.

“Through our partnership with Axmed, the Government of Rwanda has shown that meaningful improvements in the efficient and sustainable delivery of high-quality medicines across multiple therapeutic areas can be achieved. Now, through this matching fund, our partnership will expand this impact even further, reaching the most vulnerable with urgency and precision. This matching fund is a strategic step forward in reimagining procurement in a new era of global health: smarter, faster, and designed to deliver measurable results across the entire health system in collaboration with partners who are both innovative and purpose-driven “ said Dr. Loko Abraham, chief executive officer for Rwanda Medical Supply. 

The Axmed Platform: Unlocking Scale, Speed, and Savings

Axmed’s digital marketplace connects institutional buyers directly with vetted suppliers, aggregating demand across countries and consolidating procurement at scale. In 2024, Ministries and other procurers using the platform achieved average savings of 20–30%, with select MNCH products realizing up to 80% cost reductions.

Axmed also partners with global logistics providers to manage end-to-end delivery, from manufacturer to last-mile distribution, with full tracking and traceability.

The platform has been deployed across multiple LMICs to support national and regional procurement strategies.

“This fund is a clear example of how catalytic financing and technology can work together to deliver immediate and lasting impact,” said Emmanuel Akpakwu, founder & CEO of Axmed. “Our goal is not just to deliver quality medicines faster and more affordably, but to help build more resilient and efficient procurement systems for the future.”

• The pan-African Investing in Innovation (i3) program is funded by the Gates Foundation and sponsored by MSD, Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics (a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation), Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics to invest in the most promising growth-stage companies building the future of pharmacy care in Africa. 
• The 3rd cohort comprises 7 growth-stage startups operating in 19 African countries. 
• Selected startups will receive up to $225K in grants and access to market opportunities to foster growth-focused partnerships with industry leaders, governments, institutional stakeholders and donors.
• The program aims to create local jobs and drive economic growth.

Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative to support African healthtech startups to commercialise and scale their offerings, has announced its 3rd cohort of 7 growth-stage companies working to transform pharmacy services on the continent.

Sponsored by the Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics (a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation), Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics, the three-year program will empower innovators to improve patient access to healthcare across Africa and scale their impact.

In many African countries, pharmacies serve on the frontline of healthcare delivery, providing as much as 70% of initial healthcare visits.

For this cohort, i3 has prioritised growth-stage startups with pharmacy-focused innovations, recognising their vital role in expanding sustainable healthcare access and bridging critical delivery gaps while creating jobs to spur economic growth and prosperity.

The selected startups offer powerful, tech-enabled solutions that strengthen pharmacy services across Africa, ranging from inventory management, product protection, last-mile delivery, AI-powered prescription refills, embedded financing, and cloud-based pharmacy systems.

These companies are reimagining how medicines and health services reach patients, making essential care more accessible, affordable, and safer.

The selected startups are:

• Chefaa
• Dawa Mkononi
• Meditect
• mPharma
• myDawa
• RxAll
• Sproxil

Together, they demonstrate how data-driven innovation reinforces the resilience of Africa’s health systems while driving economic growth.

Operating in 19 countries across the continent, they show the power of locally grounded, scalable solutions to improve patient outcomes, create jobs, and enable more efficient, data-driven healthcare delivery at scale.

Each innovator will receive up to $225K in risk-tolerant funding, tailored customer introductions, bespoke deal facilitation, and professional communications and advocacy support.

i3 aims to facilitate ~150 strategic partnerships and influence deals valued at ~$30M between innovators and major healthcare purchasers.

In addition, the cohort will participate in i3’s flagship Access to Markets event in December 2025, designed to spark high-impact partnerships between innovators and large healthcare companies, governments, donors, and multilateral agencies.

Boniface Njenga, deputy director, Health Delivery and Systems, Africa at the Gates Foundation, commented:

“As the global health landscape continues to rapidly shift, we remain committed to supporting innovative solutions and initiatives that strengthen local health systems across Africa. The  i3 program emphasises the transformative potential of technology-driven innovations on the continent when empowered with the right resources, and we have already seen impressive results from the cohorts.”

Dr. Priya Agrawal, vice president, International Health Equity and Partnerships, at MSD, noted:

“Now more than ever, investing in local healthcare businesses is essential for securing effective and sustainable medicine and vaccine distribution across Africa. MSD is committed to partnering with i3 to support entrepreneurs that are dedicated to expanding equitable healthcare access. By engaging the local private sector and meeting patients where they are, we can enhance access and strengthen health systems through fostering innovation in pharmacy services.”

Dr. Ashifi Gogo, CEO and Founder at Sproxil, remarked:

“It is an honor to be selected as part of the i3 cohort focused on growth-stage companies. The support of leading global life sciences and logistics companies, alongside forward-thinking foundations, is encouraging as we scale our impact. The i3 program continues to differentiate itself through the transformative power of local innovation, and I am eager to see the significant impact this cohort will undoubtedly make.”

In the past two years, i3 has provided $3M in direct grant funding to 60 start-ups across 16 African countries.

The program has also established a diverse cohort of innovators, with 43% being women-led and 20% Francophone-led. Finally, successes have recorded 450 facilitated strategic connections, including 122 contracts and pilots, resulting in >$11M in contracted partnerships, expanded reach, and nearly 1,000 jobs created—half of which were held by women.

i3 is coordinated by Salient Advisory and Solina Center for International Development and Research (SCIDaR).

Startups were selected by an expert committee and with the support of CcHUB and Villgro Africa and an independent expert advisory committee.

The new investment will drive the HR-Tech company’s plan to expand its reach across Africa, enhancing workforce productivity, and accelerating business performance through innovative solutions including Embedded Finance offerings, and AI-driven workforce management technology.

The investment comes on the back of an impressive run of five years with SeamlessHR’s eponymous software being used by nearly 2000 businesses to manage HR and Payroll processes for about 300,000 employees across 20 African countries.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Emmanuel Okeleji, SeamlessHR’s co-founder and chief executive officer, shared his excitement about the round of funding and the pivotal role SeamlessHR is playing in directly tackling productivity amongst Africa’s workforce and improving the quality of life of Africa’s hardworking people.

“I am really excited about our journey. Over the last 5 years, we have expanded across the continent to become the dominant HR and Payroll Software for medium to large enterprises in Africa. While we continue to accelerate our work to optimize workforce productivity in both the public and private sectors across the continent, much of our attention will also be on empowering hardworking Africans with responsible credit products that will help them use their employment as collateral to enjoy a better life. The impact of recent global disruptions like the pandemic and various conflicts around the world and its resultant effect on economic indices such as inflation, exchange rates, and food supply has unfortunately affected the most vulnerable working Africans, leading to worsening poverty.  

“We are confident that our suite of embedded finance products will contribute to alleviating these problems at scale for our people so that working Africans like people in other parts of the world will be able to leverage responsible credit to gain better access to basic life needs like shelter, mobility, food, and education. And who better to walk this road with than the good folks at the Gates Foundation and Helios and our very supportive earlier investors, who share our passion for the continent.

Fope Adelowo, managing partner at Helios Digital Ventures, commented:

“We believe technology is the key to unlocking Africa’s immense potential as a global economic force. SeamlessHR is not only pioneering the digitisation of workforce management but also empowering businesses and employees with transformative solutions such as embedded finance. By providing salary assurance and enhanced wage access, they are breaking down barriers to financial inclusion across the continent. We are pleased to partner with SeamlessHR on this exciting journey and look forward to accelerating their impact across Africa in its next phase of growth.”

Uche Amaonwu, Nigeria country director of the Gates Foundation, added: “The Gates Foundation is excited about the potential for SeamlessHR to enable access to critical financial services for millions of hard-working, formally employed Africans. This is particularly relevant in Nigeria for workers to potentially mitigate the increasing cost of living.

This announcement comes months after SeamlessHR announced the launch of new embedded finance products that enable employers and employees access critical financing solutions, including payroll financing, to fuel their growth and business performance.

This signifies the foundation’s largest Budget ever amidst ongoing global crises. The audacious budget was aimed at saving and improving lives.

The foundation’s $8.6 billion 2024 budget was formally approved by its board of trustees on January 13.

A careful examination of the budget represents an increase of 4% over last year and a $2 billion increase over the 2021 budget, which comes as global contributions to health in the lowest-income countries are stalling.

Implicitly, the overall aid spending has leveled off, with sub-Saharan African countries saw a nearly 8% decline in aid in 2022, even as they face growing needs and shrinking budgets due to debt and other financial pressures. The foundation is also committed to increasing its annual spending to $9 billion by 2026.

The Gates foundation, works toward the goal of a healthier, more prosperous world for all. With global health budgets in decline overall, a portion of the additional funding will go toward advancing global health innovations that will save and improve the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people, including new-born babies and pregnant mothers living in low-income communities.

Speaking, Bill Gates, who co-chair the Gates Foundation, noted that, the future of humanity will amount to a mirage without good health. His words: “We can’t talk about the future of humanity without talking about the future of health,” “Every day, new-born babies and young children die simply because of where they were born. Mothers die giving birth, leaving families devastated.

That keeps me up at night. It’s unacceptable, particularly because we have already developed many of the solutions that could save their lives. Building a stronger, more stable world starts with good health.”

The Gates Foundation had earlier in 2000, focused on fighting the world’s greatest inequities, creating programs that address issues such as gender equality, agricultural development, and public education.

A major focus for the foundation has been on reducing inequities in health by funding the development of new tools and strategies to reduce the burden of infectious diseases and the leading causes of child mortality in low-income countries.

With the strong commitments, the world has made tremendous progress in cutting child deaths from more than 9.3 million a year in 2000 to 4.6 million a year in 2022.

Deaths from malaria and HIV were cut in half during the past two decades, and wild polio, which was paralyzing 350,000 children a year, has been reduced to only 12 cases in two countries.

Speaking further, Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, noted that;

“An investment in global health is an investment in our future. When the world puts money behind proven solutions, it builds stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities for generations to come,” “With low-income countries facing a whole host of challenges, now is the right time to recommit to saving lives and improving livelihoods.”

She however, noted that, despite the phenomenal progress, millions of children in poor countries still die before their fifth birthday of preventable or treatable diseases, and nearly 300,000 women die in childbirth while the tools exist to prevent their deaths. Recalling that, Ninety percent of the 340,000 women who die every year of cervical cancer live in low- and middle-income countries, even though there’s now a highly effective one-dose vaccine that can protect them against it.

She emphasized that, the foundation prioritizes the;

“The Future of Health” noting that in the course of the event at the ongoing World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Bill Gates will showcase several health innovations that the foundation has funded and its partners have been developing that could save the lives of women and children.

He will also address the role that artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies can play in transforming health and improving lives for people living in low-income countries. Gates will call on global leaders, philanthropists, CEOs, and others to help rebuild global trust and solidarity by joining together to save the most vulnerable people.

The foundation predicts that if innovations currently in the R&D pipeline are properly funded, they could help cut maternal deaths by 40% in the lowest-income countries by the end of the decade, and further drive down preventable child deaths.

To emphasize that many solutions are simple, portable, and already close at hand, Gates and other foundation leaders will carry backpacks in Davos emblazoned with “The Future of Health” and filled with examples of products that could save millions of lives.

They include a package of tools that can save 65,000 women by 2030 from dying of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).

It is known fact that PPH is the biggest cause of maternal death worldwide. The package includes a simple and inexpensive drape to better measure blood loss. When paired with interventions in a trial, these tools decreased cases of severe bleeding by 60%.

A one-dose HPV vaccine that helps protect against one of the most common cancers among women worldwide.

Millions of girls in low- and middle-income countries haven’t received HPV vaccines, while most girls in high-income countries have.

As much as 90% of cervical cancer deaths are in these countries. With a one-dose HPV vaccine, the barriers to vaccination are much lower, and efficacy remains high and lasting.

Modeling estimates that more than 110 million cases of cervical cancer can be averted as the one-dose regimen is rolled out, in part through Gavi.

According to Mark Suzman, Gates Foundation CEO;

“The Gates Foundation measures impact in terms of lives saved and opportunities provided to the poorest,” “This new high-water mark for our budget will further our mission to help create a world where everyone has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life.”

The pledges come ahead of a global replenishment conference in March to support CEPI’s visionary 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,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. “Our work over the past 20 years has taught us 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.”

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 center 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.

CEPI made early investments in the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which is now saving lives around the world.

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 1 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 overriding lesson from this pandemic is the need for effective organizations and systems to be in place and ready before a crisis, as well as acting rapidly based on well-established science when such crises inevitably occur,” said Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome. “Wellcome proudly founded CEPI in 2017 along with partners from Norway, India, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the World Economic Forum following the devastating 2014¬–16 Ebola epidemic. We 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 recognizes the enormous potential CEPI has to protect lives against emerging infectious diseases,” Dr. Farrar continued. “The effects of COVID-19 have been sobering. We urge 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.”

Beyond COVID-19, CEPI has filled a vital gap in supporting vaccine equity alongside R&D. CEPI is currently supporting the research and development of accessible vaccines against other infectious diseases, including the first-ever vaccines to reach clinical trials against the deadly Nipah and Lassa viruses.

The organization has also played a critical role in efforts to end Ebola, including supporting the development of a second Ebola vaccine by Janssen.

In addition to advancing the science underlying vaccine development and new vaccine platforms, CEPI is focused on dramatically reducing the time it takes to develop lifesaving vaccines against any new viral threat (referred to as “Disease X”)—to within 100 days of a pathogen being sequenced.

This represents a combination of scale and speed that could save millions of lives and trillions of dollars.

“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,” said Awa Marie Coll Seck, minister of state to the president of the Republic of Senegal. “Innovative global partnerships like CEPI play a critical role in advancing the R&D 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.”

The pandemic has rebounded in waves around the world, highlighting the important role of international organizations like CEPI that put equitable access at the core of their mission.

Recent data from Northeastern University show that had the availability of vaccines in lower-income countries like Kenya been akin to that in high-income countries like the UK or the U.S., 70 percent of COVID-19 deaths to date would have been averted.

“The world must do better at protecting everyone, everywhere against the greatest health threats—from COVID-19 and beyond,” said Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. “CEPI’s investments in groundbreaking R&D, commitments to equitable access, and cooperation across the public and private sectors are vital in this effort. We call on global leaders to help CEPI reach its funding target of $3.5 billion.”

The United Kingdom will host CEPI’s replenishment conference on March 8, 2022, in London. 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.