Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic disease caused by the Lassa virus, which occurs in West Africa. CEPI's goal is to advance a Lassa fever vaccine to licensure for routine immunisation and outbreak response for affected countries. Find out more about this pathogen and CEPI's R&D efforts in this disease area here: Lassa Fever on CEPI.net

How is CEPI responding to Lassa fever? 

Enable

CEPI created and funds Enable, the largest ever study of Lassa fever, to assess the incidence and disease burden of Lassa fever in West Africa

Visit Enable page

Diagnostics

CEPI is funding FIND's 4-year project to evaluate point-of-care testing options for Lassa fever. Successful diagnostics will progress to licensure

Read press release

Vaccines

CEPI invests in the development of several vaccines. One of CEPI’s partners, IAVI, launched the 1st Phase II trial of a Lassa vaccine in West Africa

View CEPI’s portfolio

Research Preparedness
Programme

Adopting a multi-regional approach to support development of local clinical trial capabilities in routine clinical research preparedness and emergency evidence generation readiness

Learn more

Regulatory
Strengthening

Ongoing and planned engagement with national regulatory authorities. Examples of this can be viewed in the dedicated Regulatory Affairs and Quality Publications page 

View examples

Building a Community
for Lassa Fever

CEPI is working in collaboration with the West African Health Organisation to establish a Lassa Fever Vaccine Coalition for end-to-end delivery of a Lassa vaccine

See more below

Regional and Country Engagement 

West African leaders commit to advance Lassa fever vaccine for the region

In an historic moment for regional solidarity and leadership, on 8 September 2025, West African Ministers of Health pledged their joint commitment to advance the development of, and readiness for, much-needed vaccines against Lassa fever in recognition of the significant threat to regional health security posed by the disease.

Ministers of Health from across the region gathered for high-level talks convened by the West African Health Organization (WAHO) and His Excellency Dr. Muhammad Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Nigeria, as co-leads of the Lassa fever Coalition, and His Excellency Pierre Dimba, Minister of Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Health Coverage of the ​Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, as host of the Lassa fever International Conference in Abidjan. The meeting was supported by global pandemic preparedness institution the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), a nonprofit scientific research organisation.

The Ministers of Health agreed a communiqué that reinforces the region’s shared leadership in confronting a virus that is endemic to West Africa and causes significant health, economic and societal harm.

Read the communique in full here: Communique Ministerial Roundtable on Accelerating Lassa Fever Vaccine Readiness

WAHO convene 26th Ordinary Assembly of ECOWAS Health Ministers

The West African Health Organisation (WAHO) leads the Lassa fever Vaccine Coalition, which coordinates regional engagement to support Lassa vaccine development with CEPI's support. CEPI was invited to speak at the 26th Ordinary Assembly of ECOWAS Health Ministers from 4th – 10th May, in Praia, Cabo Verde. CEPI alongside WAHO provided an update on the progress of the Lassa coalition, emerging opportunities, and strategic priorities for Lassa fever control.

The updates provided include:

    1. Progress with vaccine development including the start of Phase 2a trials in 2024 in three West African countries and other candidates in various development stages
    2. Development of a Lassa policy research agenda in 2025 under the leadership of the Lassa coalition
    3. Ongoing plans for the review and validation of an end-to-end access plan for a Lassa fever vaccine
    4. Plans for the 2025 Lassa Fever International Conference convened by WAHO to galvanise commitment and promote regional and global collaboration
    5. Advocacy to integrate Lassa fever vaccine strategies into broader national health and immunisation strategies

There were discussions around WAHO’s plans to work with ECOWAS member states and other partners through capacity-building, knowledge-sharing, and inclusive decision-making. This way, Member States will stay engaged in planning and policy development to enable vaccine development and leverage lessons from Lassa for other diseases: Lassa Fever Vaccination Coalition Technical Brief

The Ministers reaffirmed their political commitment to provide all the political support necessary for the promotion of health research and for the success of the search for a vaccine against Lassa fever. There was also deliberation around including countries not reporting Lassa fever cases but at high risk.

A press statement was released announcing the addition of the Coalition Secretariat Partner to the Lassa coalition: Leading health partners join coalition set up to combat deadly Lassa fever

The meeting ended with a communique summarising discussions and key resolutions at the meeting including on Lassa vaccine development.

CEPI, WAHO and CSP representatives at the 26th Ordinary Assembly of ECOWAS Health Ministers 4-10 May 2025, in Praia, Cabo Verde

Establishment of a Lassa Demand Forecast Working Group

In May 2025, a regional Lassa Demand Forecast Working Group was established to guide and oversee the refinement of demand forecast for Lassa fever vaccines. The working group chaired by the West Africa Health Organisation (WAHO) includes representatives from research institutions, NGOs, regional and national public health agencies, and independent experts bringing together diverse expertise and perspectives. The group will guide and provide oversight for an updated demand forecast, and eventually champion and support dissemination of the results.

Membership of the Lassa Demand Forecast Working Group:

West Africa Health Organization (WAHO) - Chair, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI), International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), Coalition Secretariat Partner (CSP), Institut Pasteur Dakar (IPD), Georgetown Global Health Nigeria, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Women Advocates for Vaccine Access, Independent Consultant, Sierra Leone National Public Health Agency (SL-NPHA), Africa CDC, University of Oxford 

Funding Opportunities 

CEPI’s Innovations to Prepare for Future Epidemics and Pandemics Call for Proposals aims to support CEPI’s mission by advancing a broad range of vaccine innovations for pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential. It will support vaccine research, development and manufacturing innovations for CEPI’s priority pathogens and contribute towards the 100 Days Mission, thereby helping the world prepare for known and future epidemic and pandemic threats.

For more detail on this funding opportunity, including how to apply, please see: Calls for Proposals on CEPI.net

Events 

Upcoming Events

2nd Lassa Fever International Conference to Enhance Regional Health Security. 8–12 September 2025 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Past Events

26th Ordinary Assembly of ECOWAS Health Ministers

Inaugural Meeting of the Lassa Fever Coalition Governing Entity (LGE)

ECOWAS Lassa webinar Quarter 2 (meeting recording): Strengthening Medical Countermeasure R&D Coordination for Emerging Infectious Diseases: Applications of the Lassa Vaccine Coalition Use passcode: @8jvAdFu

ECOWAS Lassa Webinar Quarter 1 (meeting recording): Strengthening Community based Research for Lassa Prevention and Control

Resources and Publications 

Lassa fever story on CEPI.net: How new vaccine trials in West Africa boost global viral defences | CEPI

SPEAC launches Living Systematic Review (LSR) and meta-analysis tool on the safety, effectiveness, and immunogenicity of Lassa Fever vaccines: Living Systemic Review on Lassa Fever Vaccines Safety | SPEAC

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