The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), two co-leads of COVAX, the multilateral mechanism that accelerated equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines globally, have expanded their partnership to enhance the rapid development, deployment and access to vaccines against other deadly disease threats with outbreak potential.

The signed Memorandum of Understanding will facilitate faster sharing of global health and vaccine information between the two organisations to better prepare for and respond to future epidemics. The goal is to use CEPI and Gavi’s respective areas of expertise to accelerate equitable access to outbreak vaccines for populations most in need, regardless of their ability to pay.

Current and future areas for collaboration include alignment and coordination between Gavi and CEPI on the development, manufacturing and supply of new vaccine candidates against known diseases, as well as a novel or as-yet unidentified threat with pandemic potential, known as ‘Disease X’. The faster that safe and effective new vaccines are developed and equitably deployed based on a country’s need, the faster a new pandemic threat can be contained and controlled, helping to reduce the threat for everyone, everywhere.

CEPI and Gavi will also collaborate on policy and advocacy efforts to enhance the global pandemic preparedness architecture.

The new collaboration, signed on the sidelines of the 77th World Health Assembly, builds on the strong relationship developed between the two organisations when co-leading the largest and fastest mass global vaccination campaign in history alongside UNICEF and WHO in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Image caption- Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI (R) and Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi