“Five years ago, the world confronted a global pandemic that reshaped economies, societies, and health systems. The response to COVID-19 showed what is possible when science, policy, and global solidarity align...Today, that mission is even more urgent.”
- Dr Mona Nemer, Chief Science Advisor of Canada
In September 2024, Marburg virus struck Rwanda for the first time. One of the deadliest known human diseases, with a fatality rate of up to 88% and no approved vaccine, health officials faced a terrifying clock.
But they were prepared.
Just weeks earlier, Rwandan officials had quietly run a practice drill for exactly this scenario. That made a world of difference. Within ten days of the outbreak, health workers were receiving an experimental vaccine in a clinical trial. The outbreak was contained. Lives were saved, and a potential global crisis was stopped in its tracks.
Rwanda showed us what ten days of preparedness can do. COVID-19 showed what is possible when the world mobilizes, but also what it costs when it mobilizes too late: 15 million lives and US$13.8 trillion stripped from the global economy. And here is what makes that even harder to accept: 8 million of those deaths could have been prevented had vaccines been ready within 100 days.
The next threat won't wait. Scientific capability has never been greater, and yet the political and financial foundations underpinning that science have never been more fragile. For Canada, the case for investing now is clear: the cost of unpreparedness is far greater than the cost of action.
The ask: We call on Canada to champion the 100 Days Mission by investing $125 million over five years in CEPI 3.0, ensuring the world has safe, effective vaccines ready within 100 days of the next pandemic threat.
why Canada must step up for global health security
The International Monetary Fund projects future pandemics will cost the world US$700 billion+ every year on average.
Climate change, urbanization, and increased global movement are accelerating the spread of infectious disease threats.
Despite the risk, major donors, led by the U.S, are cutting pandemic preparedness funding, leaving critical gaps across the vaccine, diagnostics, and therapeutics pipeline.
The International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat warns the world is falling behind the speed and scale of emerging threats. Outbreaks are increasing in frequency, scale, and economic impact: H1N1 in 2009, Ebola in 2014, COVID-19 in 2019, and Marburg in 2024.
In an interconnected world, no country is safe from the next outbreak. COVID-19 proved that the speed of science determines whether an outbreak is contained or becomes a deadly and life-changing crisis. And yet, Canada is following dangerous global trends and retreating from investing in global health, including related research, development, and innovation. Instead, we are shifting resources toward traditional military spending.
Cutting investment in science to fund defence doesn't make us safer, it leaves us more exposed. Investing in vaccine research and development is an investment in lives saved, economies protected, and societies stabilized.
The evidence is clear: since 1974, vaccination alone has averted 154 million deaths, including 146 million children under five.
CEPI: at the heart of the global response
Founded in 2017, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was built to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious disease threats. When COVID-19 hit, CEPI moved swiftly, helping coordinate the delivery of nearly 2 billion vaccine doses to 146 countries, particularly those most in need, and contributed to saving over 2.7 million lives.
CEPI recently launched its most ambitious strategy yet. CEPI 3.0 will fund the 100 Days Mission by ensuring the world has safe, effective vaccines ready and accessible to all who need within 100 days of the next pandemic threat. It is a concrete, costed plan to shift the world from scrambling to react to being truly ready.
CEPI and the 100 Days Mission – what investment delivers
In less than a decade, CEPI has:
supported over 50 vaccine candidates – including the first-ever vaccines for Lassa, Nipah, and MERS ever tested in humans.
Funded the world's first licensed Chikungunya vaccine, a debilitating disease that infects an estimated 35 million people every year across 104 countries.
Helped launched a Marburg vaccine trial within 10 days of Rwanda's outbreak detection.
Future pandemics could cost the global economy over US$700 billion every year CEPI's entire 2027–2031 strategy costs a fraction of this at US$2.5 billion.
fund the development of vaccines against the diseases most likely to cause the next pandemic.
build faster ways to develop new vaccines when unknown threats emerge.
strengthen manufacturing capacity in every region of the world so that no country is left waiting when the next outbreak strikes.
work with Canadian scientists and manufacturers, meaning this investment strengthens Canada's own research and vaccine innovation capacity while protecting the world.
Investing in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response is estimated to yield a significant return on investment of US$14 for every dollar spent.
Global health security and vaccine innovation are core national interests, and as COVID-19 showed, pandemic preparedness is everyone's responsibility. It demands a whole-of-government response, with finance, industry, defence and international development pulling together in the same direction: a prosperous Canada in a healthy world that is safe, secure, and prepared for our world’s next pandemic.
With the G7 Leaders' Summit approaching in June, Canada has a rare opportunity to signal its commitment to global health security and the science that keeps the world safe. If Canada contributes $125 million over five years – less than the cost of one day of our $624 billion COVID-19 response – it will become one of CEPI's leading investors and pave the way for other leaders to step up with investments.
Rwanda showed us what ten days of preparation can deliver. The next ten days are being built right now. Canada must be part of building them.
The ask: We call on Canada to champion the 100 Days Mission by investing $125 million over five years in CEPI 3.0, ensuring the world has safe, effective vaccines ready within 100 days of the next pandemic threat.
latest campaign news
Born to Thrive
Over the past three months, Results Canada volunteers have engaged Members of Parliament and published letters to the editor in record numbers, calling for a $340 million commitment over five years to the Global Financing Facility (GFF). That collective effort worked: on April 16, Secretary of State for International Development Randeep Sarai announced an initial pledge of $190 million. This is a meaningful step forward! As the GFF’s resource mobilization campaign continues, we will build on this progress and continue our advocacy to ensure Canada meets our full ask and help make maternal health and child survival a reality for all.
story
A plan to protect lives and livelihoods from a mosquito-borne killer
For Professor George Warimwe, the fight against Rift Valley fever is personal. Raised in Nairobi, his grandparents sold their cattle to pay his school fees. Today, as a scientist at the University of Oxford, he is leading the first-ever human vaccine trial against a disease that has shaped his life from both ends.
Rift Valley fever is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause severe bleeding, brain inflammation, and blindness, and in its most severe form, kills up to 50% of those infected. It disproportionately affects rural communities in Africa, where people live and work closely with animals. With climate change expanding the reach of the mosquitoes that carry it, outbreaks are becoming more frequent and spreading to new regions. There is no approved human vaccine. CEPI is funding trials of a promising candidate in Kenya – work that could one day protect millions of people across Africa and beyond.
"It's really exciting to be providing a solution here in Kenya, in the country where I was raised," says Warimwe.
Subscribe to One Crisis After Another, a podcast series from the Pandemic and Emergency Readiness Lab. Across episodes, guests reflect on what COVID-19 revealed, where preparedness continues to fall short, and what it will take to build more resilient and coordinated responses.
May 6 - Results Canada’s Science Fair on the Hill May 17-21 - World Health Assembly, Geneva Jun 9-12 - Global Health Security Conference Jun 15-17 - G7 Leaders’ Summit
Email Hon. Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry (melanie.joly@ised-isde.gc.ca), and Hon. David J. McGuinty (david.mcguinty@forces.gc.ca), Minister of National Defence, to make the case for Canada's investment in CEPI and the 100 Days Mission. Be sure to copy your Member of Parliament in the email (don't know who that is? Enter your postal code on the House of Commons website to find out and get their contact information).
In a world of rising geopolitical tension and growing epidemic threats, pandemic preparedness is not just a health issue; it is a national security issue. Your email is a chance to make that case directly to the ministers who need to hear it most. Remind them that the speed of science – how fast vaccines can be developed and deployed – determines whether the next outbreak is contained or becomes a crisis. Cutting investment in vaccine research and innovation doesn't make us safer, it leaves us more exposed.
Let them know that Canada has world-class researchers and vaccine innovation capacity, and that investing in CEPI strengthens both global security and Canadian science. With the G7 Leaders' Summit approaching in June, now is the moment for Canada to signal its commitment.
Attach this fact sheet to the email to provide them with more information.
Expert tip: Use the EPIC model of effective communication to get your message across clearly.
write a Letter to the Editor (LTE)
Use the upcoming G7 Leaders' Summit in June as a timely hook to write a letter to the editor highlighting Canada's opportunity to lead on global health security and vaccine innovation. Government representatives are deciding how to show up at that Summit now and we have time to make sure Canada steps up for Canadians and the world. All the information you need is in our call to action.
Remind decision-makers and the public that the next pandemic is not a matter of if but when and that Canada has a concrete, cost-effective way to help ensure the world is ready. Remind readers that COVID-19 cost Canada over $624 billion in pandemic response spending, and that investing in CEPI now is a fraction of what unpreparedness costs.
A personal connection to the issue, as a health worker, a scientist, a parent, or simply a Canadian who lived through COVID-19, will make your letter stand out. To increase your chances of publication, submit to local and community newspapers as well as national outlets.
Your voice matters. Letters to the editor (LTEs) are one of the clearest ways to show Members of Parliament that their constituents are paying attention.
follow these step-by-step instructions to write an LTE
Volunteers on average spend 1-2 hours researching and planning, 30 minutes writing their draft, and 15 minutes submitting it to newspapers.
Research the current issue by reading the news or external reliable sources (e.g., the World Health Organization).
Draft your LTE. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and you don’t have to be an expert to have an opinion.
Create an outline of your letter using the EPIC format.
Keep it short – 150-200 words. Being clear and concise will increase your chances of getting published.
Focus on your perspective and speak from the heart while supporting your opinion with evidence from our call-to-action and/or your research.
Remember to state the problem early on and include a solution to the issue which is usually the “ask” in the call-to-action.
Write a catchy title that will draw the reader in.
Review your draft to make sure you are using respectful and inclusive language – see our anti-oppression best practices.
Decide if you are sending your LTE to one or many newspapers. If you’re emailing multiple newspapers, put their addresses in the BCC field. Use our database of editors’ emails for options.
Press ‘send’ – congratulations! Be sure to let us know you’ve submitted an LTE through our reporting form or tell your Group Leader. If you are not part of a group, contact us at action@resultscanada.ca. If you are not a volunteer yet, join us!
Do an internet search of your name and a key sentence from your LTE for a few weeks after you submit if the newspaper editor didn’t notify you that they picked up your LTE.
If you got published, complete the “I got published in the media” form.
