DRC: First participant vaccinated in pivotal Ebola vaccine trial

As the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) faces the largest recorded outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) to date, the first participant has been vaccinated in the start of a pivotal trial. 

The vaccination was administered on 26 October 2026 in Bunia, Ituri Province in northeastern DRC.

Tumaini, which means "hope" in Swahili, is a phase 2/3 clinical trial of vaccine candidates against BDBV that will support the Government-led response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

The outbreak was officially declared on 15 May 2026 and is the second largest in the DRC to date. The World Health Organization (WHO) called it a "public health emergency of international concern" and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared it a "public health emergency of continental security".

More than 10,000 Ebola cases have now been recorded, with over 4,800 deaths. 

No approved vaccine

There is currently no approved vaccine to protect against BDBV. Tumaini aims to close that gap by evaluating the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of vaccine candidates.

Tumaini will work closely with affected communities, health authorities and outbreak response partners to generate robust evidence on vaccine performance. It could help to halt the epidemic, save lives and strengthen preparedness for future BDBV outbreaks.  

“Bringing this trial into the Ebola response is an important step towards addressing the urgent needs of affected communities," says Professor Steve Ahuka-Mundeke, incident manager of the Ebola Response, DRC.  

"Our priority is to stop transmission and save lives, while ensuring that research is closely coordinated with frontline response activities. We thank the participants, communities and partners whose trust and engagement make it possible to evaluate potential new tools against Bundibugyo virus.” 

Vaccine candidates

The first candidate to enter the trial is Ervebo, which is currently licensed for use to prevent Ebola virus (EBOV).

Tumaini is an adaptive platform trial, which allows several vaccine candidates to be evaluated in parallel within a single framework. This saves valuable time during an outbreak.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) provides funding, scientific expertise and operational support and is backing a portfolio of BDBV-specific vaccine candidates that could be evaluated in the study.

Preparations are underway for two BDBV-specific vaccine candidates to enter the trial shortly. Funded by CEPI, they are under development by Moderna and by the University of Oxford in collaboration with Serum Institute of India.

Candidates will be assessed through ring vaccination, which focuses on contacts at high risk of infection (technical details are available on clinicaltrials.gov under reference NCT07842107).

Vaccine candidates are selected through an independent prioritisation process led by the WHO technical advisory group on candidate vaccine prioritisation (TAG-CVP). Corresponding protocol amendments are approved by Congolese Pharmaceutical Regulatory Authority (ACOREP), DRC's national regulatory authority.  

An alliance of partners

Several partners are supporting the implementation of the trial, including:

• The Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) and University of Antwerp (Global Health Institute), who co-lead and co-sponsor the trial;
• The DRC's ministry of health, which provides national leadership and aligns the trial with the wider outbreak response;
• Africa CDC, which plays a strategic role ensuring emerging scientific evidence informs public health decision-making and the wider Ebola outbreak response, and supporting timely and equitable access to successful vaccine candidates;
• WHO, which provides strategic, technical and scientific advice along with on-the-ground experience to stand up a vaccine trial embedded in an emergency response;
• Epicentre;
• Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which uses its own funding and operational capacity to support the trial;
• And the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp (ITM).

“The Tumaini trial represents a critical step towards addressing the urgent needs of people most affected by Bundibugyo virus," says MSF medical director Bern-Thomas Nyang'wa.

"MSF brings to this trial its experience of doing clinical research in close collaboration with affected communities. Working in partnership with communities is essential for building trust and ensuring meaningful participation in the development of vaccines that are effective, adapted, and accessible to those who need them most.”

“There is still no licensed vaccine against Bundibugyo virus, and the cost of that absence is being counted in the DRC every day, in lives lost and in health workers who go to work without protection," says CEPI CEO Dr Richard Hatchett.  

"Tumaini aims to change that. Today’s first vaccination opens a pivotal trial to generate the evidence needed to get safe and effective vaccines to the people who need them most.”