A Historic Step Forward: The First End-to-End Access Roadmap for Lassa Fever Vaccines

For over fifty years, Lassa fever has threatened communities across West Africa. First identified in the town of Lassa in Nigeria, the haemorrhagic disease has since spread across the region, claiming lives and livelihoods in countries where health systems are already stretched thin. But on 3 February 2026, a landmark moment signalled that the tide may finally be turning.

Where CMS Fits In

As lead partner in the CSP, CMS provided critical technical support to WAHO in developing and validating the roadmap. Through CEPI's support, this partnership ensures that the Coalition's vaccine access planning is grounded in regional expertise and locally driven strategies. Our work with WAHO ensures that access planning begins alongside early research and development, rather than as an afterthought, and that West African epidemiological contexts shape both vaccine development and deployment strategies from the outset.

A Coalition Built for Action

The Coalition's efforts are supported by the health ministries of the five most affected West African countries: Benin, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. Together, this coalition represents a united front, governments, technical partners, and global health institutions working in concert to prepare for what could be the first licensed Lassa fever vaccines within the next five years.

What the Roadmap Covers

The E2E Access Roadmap is comprehensive by design. It covers every stage of the vaccine access journey: from research and development through to regulatory and policy preparedness, manufacturing, financing, procurement, delivery systems, and long-term sustainability. It assigns clear roles and timelines to governments, manufacturers, and funders, enabling coordinated action well before vaccines reach the market.

The roadmap is structured around five key objectives: timely vaccine availability and accessibility, vaccine supply meeting expected demand, regulatory and policy readiness, affordable procurement for those who need it most, and sustainable implementation for uninterrupted access. Each objective includes proposed interventions, designated lead partners, and monitoring frameworks designed to ensure accountability throughout the process.

Looking Ahead

The roadmap is a living document. Over the coming years, it will be refined as new research emerges, as Lassa vaccine candidates progress through clinical trials, and as partners share new inputs and commitments. CEPI and WAHO also intend to convene a steering group to monitor progress against the objectives and interventions identified.

For CMS, this work reinforces a core principle that runs through everything we do: that communities and the health systems that serve them must be at the centre of planning from the very beginning. Access cannot be an afterthought. It must be built into the architecture of vaccine development and delivery from day one.