Context: The Serum Institute of India (SII) will join a growing Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) network of vaccine producers in the Global South to support more rapid, agile, and equitable responses to future disease outbreaks, and take it a step closer to achieving the 100 Days Mission.
About Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI):
- It is an innovative global partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil society organisations working to finance independent research projects to develop vaccines against emerging infectious diseases in alignment with the WHO R&D Blueprint for action to prevent epidemics.
- Enable equitable access to these vaccines for people during outbreaks.
- Also other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats.
- It was launched in 2017 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos by the governments of Norway and India, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and WEF.
- It adopted a vision of 100 Days Mission for delivering a vaccine within 100 days with improved surveillance providing earlier detection and warning, and swift use of interventions such as testing, contact tracing and social distancing to suppress disease transmission.