Conakry (Guinea), 17 August 2015 (WHO): The President of Guinea, Mr Alpha Condé, called a meeting with Dr Mohamed Belhocine, the WHO Country Representative in Guinea, the coordinator of the Ebola vaccine trial and the CDC/Atlanta coordinator in Guinea. This team of partners was introduced by the national Ebola virus disease coordinator Dr Sakoba Keita.

The conversation focused on the way forward for the Ebola vaccine trial, following the publication by WHO of the preliminary results. The Head of State congratulated WHO for developing a high-quality vaccine in such a short space of time and with such scientific rigour.

High-level expert meeting

The President was keen to stress that the Ebola vaccine is 100% effective, as the trial had shown. But the fight should go on.  It was necessary to move quickly towards full-scale production of the vaccine to benefit the whole population. It was important to keep faith.  Accordingly, the President proposed that an expert meeting be convened as soon as possible to identify appropriate strategies and organize a high-level meeting of heads of state and government to mobilize resources and political support.  The President asked the experts from WHO and CDC for practical suggestions.

The vaccine trial will continue but decisions will be taken by the committee of experts

The WHO Country Representative in Guinea said that the vaccine was an effective additional weapon that would help to break the chain of transmission of the epidemic through the immediate vaccination of contacts (within 24 hours), the contacts of contacts and front-line health workers.  Dr Belhocine further explained that other interventions such as contact tracing, active case-finding, medical treatment and safe and dignified burials were all essential.

The vaccine trial coordinator Dr Ana Maria Restrepo said that the trial would continue, thereby ensuring that the committee of experts had all the data at its disposal to make appropriate recommendations on technical matters and decide upon the conditions of use of this new large-scale vaccine. She informed the Head of State that WHO was doing everything it could to expedite the licensing process, and that the GAVI Alliance had already allocated a budget of US$ 380 million to fund production of the vaccine for affected countries.

Doses of vaccine still available

The representative of CDC/Atlanta Dr Pierre Rolin said that, as part of the vaccine trial, Guinea currently had 10 000 does of Ebola virus vaccine for immunization of contacts and 2000 doses for health workers.

A technical committee for Guinea

Following the meeting with the experts from WHO, CDC and the national coordination team, the President gave instructions for the establishment of a technical committee for Guinea, tasked with making proposals and recommendations for organizing a national meeting of experts on Ebola virus vaccine and expediting the production of the vaccine to halt the scourge of Ebola in Africa.

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For more information, contact:

Dr Mohammed BELHOCINE, WHO Representative in Guinea
Mobile : (+ 224) 622 72 68 84 E-mail : belhocimo [at] who.int

Dr Mamoudou Harouna Djingarey, Deputy WHO representative in Guinea
Mobile : (+ 224) 624 82 73 86; E-mail : djingareyh [at] who.int

Media contacts

Mr Konaté Issiaga, Health Promotion and Communication
Tel : (+224) 62 59 70 42 ; E-mail: konatei [at] who.int

Koné Soulyemane, Health Promotion and Communication
Tel : (+ 224) 622727168 ; E-mail : koneso [at] who.int

Rodrigue Barry, Communication and Advocacy, Intercountry Support Team/West Africa
Tel (+224) 62854 44 99 ; E-mail : barryr [at] who.int

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Below:
1. The President of Guinea (third from right) with the WHO Country Representative and experts from CDC and WHO
2. The Head of State with the WHO Country Representative and the vaccine trial coordinator
3. The WHO Country Representative (centre) outside the President’s Press Office
4. The National Ebola Control Coordinator