{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T05:52:41Z","timestamp":1785909161002,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785888000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Vaccines have transformed preparedness for Zaire ebolavirus disease, but East Africa still faces recurrent risk from Sudan virus and Bundibugyo virus, for which licensed and routinely deployable vaccines remain unavailable. Uganda\u2019s 2025 Sudan virus disease outbreak changed the field because it hosted the first clinical efficacy trial of a Sudan virus vaccine during an active outbreak. That was a major scientific achievement, yet it also exposed a more basic weakness: the region still relies too heavily on outbreak-triggered trial activation rather than on a standing preparedness architecture. We argue that East Africa now needs a pan-ebolavirus vaccine-readiness platform built around the threats it repeatedly faces, and we propose that such a platform should be embedded within the broader filovirus preparedness system rather than treated as a stand-alone vaccine project. Such a platform would link genomic surveillance, prototype vaccine libraries, harmonised ethics and regulatory pathways, adaptive ring-vaccination protocols, cold-chain corridors, community trust systems, African-led data stewardship, and manufacturing partnerships. We further argue that Sudan virus and Bundibugyo virus should no longer be treated as occasional vaccine gaps; they are regional preparedness priorities that also expose persistent therapeutic gaps. A sovereignty-oriented model would not replace global collaboration; it would make that collaboration more balanced by enabling East African institutions to lead trial readiness, deployment, evidence generation, and equitable access before the next spillover occurs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1890576","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]],"date-time":"2026-08-05T05:41:15Z","timestamp":1785908475000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["From reactive trials to regional vaccine sovereignty: a pan-ebolavirus vaccine-readiness framework for East Africa\u2019s Sudan virus and Bundibugyo virus threats"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Okechukwu Paul-Chima","family":"Ugwu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research, Publication and Extension, Kampala International University","place":["Kampala, Uganda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chinyere Nneoma","family":"Ugwu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research, Publication and Extension, Kampala International University","place":["Kampala, Uganda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Godson Emeka","family":"Anyanwu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Kampala International University","place":["Kampala, Uganda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mariam","family":"Basajja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Research, Publication and Extension, Kampala International University","place":["Kampala, Uganda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maryann Chiamaka","family":"Ebuoh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human Anatomy, State University of Medical and Applied Sciences","place":["Igbo Eno, Enugu, Nigeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"505","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(16)32621-6","article-title":"Efficacy and effectiveness of an rVSV-vectored vaccine in preventing Ebola virus disease: final results from the Guinea ring vaccination, open-label, cluster-randomised trial (Ebola \u00c7a Suffit!)","volume":"389","author":"Henao-Restrepo","year":"2017","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1438","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa1614067","article-title":"Phase 2 placebo-controlled trial of two vaccines to prevent Ebola in Liberia","volume":"377","year":"2017","journal-title":"N Engl J Med"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfma.2023.06.001","article-title":"Sudan virus disease: A quick 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Health"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e71926","DOI":"10.1002\/hsr2.71926","article-title":"The current landscape and future prospects of vaccine manufacturing in Africa: challenges, innovations, and opportunities: a narrative review","volume":"9","author":"Chandipwisa","year":"2026","journal-title":"Health Sci Rep"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1983","DOI":"10.1016\/S2214-109X(25)00314-6","article-title":"A landscape analysis of the vaccine ecosystem in Africa: research and development funding, clinical trials, regulation, and manufacturing readiness","volume":"13","author":"Fleck-Vidal","year":"2025","journal-title":"Lancet Glob Health"},{"key":"ref22","year":"2024"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public 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