“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.
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.
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.
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.
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Born to Thrive
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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.
podcast
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
X tags: @ResultsCda, @CanadaDev, @MarkJCarney, @AnitaAnandMP, @RandeepSSarai, @YasirNaqviCDN
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.
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.
Volunteers on average spend 1-2 hours researching and planning, 30 minutes writing their draft, and 15 minutes submitting it to newspapers.
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