On a path to accelerate access to Ebola vaccines: The WHO's research and development efforts during the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa

•WHO actively contributed to the coordination of the Ebola vaccine R&D activities during the recent EVD outbreak.•Despite the unprecedented collaboration and results, the experience highlighted the need to adjust the model for R&D.•WHO has convened a broad global coalition of experts' to develop a Blueprint and a platform for accelerated R&D.

During 2014 and 2015 an outbreak of Ebola deemed a Public Health Emergency of International Concern affected a number of West African countries. The outbreak underscored the need for a vaccine against Ebola. An unprecedented and to great extent collaborative effort built on the availability of a number of candidate vaccines that could enter into clinical phase evaluation. A series of international consultations and activities were led by WHO as a contribution to the unprecedented global efforts to develop and assess an Ebola vaccine. WHO consulted widely, and immediately fostered interactions with the international scientific, ethics, regulatory, vaccine development, public health partners, industry and funders' communities and participated in consortia to facilitate Ebola vaccine assessments. WHO also fostered key activities to ensure the optimal policy and deployment of Ebola vaccines, if licensed. WHO has convened a broad global coalition of experts to develop a Blueprint and a platform for accelerated R&D, in order to avert full-blown epidemics.