Guinea-Bissau: Police seize vaccines from a Danish trial planned for 14,000 newborns

The Guinea-Bissau judicial police raided the premises of the Bandim Health Project in Bissau and seized a batch of hepatitis B vaccines intended for a clinical trial led by Danish researchers, an operation confirmed on October 22, 2026, by the research team and the police. According to the Belga agency, investigators sealed the refrigerator containing the doses reserved for the study, dubbed HBV-NSE.

The police specified that this is an "investigative act" and that the seizure "does not, in itself, allow for the conclusion that there are irregularities" regarding the quality, safety, or efficacy of the vaccines, reports AFP. No charges have been announced.

A protocol that Bissau refuses to sign

The trial was intended to involve approximately 14,000 newborns: only some of them would have received the vaccine at birth, while others would have received it later. It is funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the tune of 1.6 million dollars, or about 1.4 million euros, according to AFP. The CDC is currently under the Ministry of Health led by Robert Kennedy Jr., who is known for his hostile stance toward vaccination.

In February 2026, the World Health Organization estimated, based on public information, that the trial did not comply with established ethical and scientific principles and suspended it pending technical reviews. Most importantly, the Guinea-Bissau Council of Ministers reaffirmed in a statement on October 16, 2026, its refusal to authorize the study according to the submitted protocol; this authorization is essential to begin.

Researcher Christine Stabell Benn, affiliated with the University of Southern Denmark, claims for her part that no children have been included or vaccinated and that the police intervention therefore did not interrupt any ongoing trial. She asserts that the work had received the approval of the national ethics committee of Guinea-Bissau and that of her university.

What Guinea-Bissau stands to lose

The case concerns a country where the disease is massively present: more than 12% of Bissau-Guinean adults live with chronic hepatitis B, and about 2% of children under five were infected in 2020, well above the global target, according to the WHO. The organization points out that transmission at birth is the most common route to a lifelong chronic infection, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Beyond the technical dispute, the case raises a question of health sovereignty: who decides on the research conducted on African newborns, and according to what rules. Here, an African government said no, and it is this no that prevails. The next steps will depend on the investigation opened in Bissau and the technical conclusions expected by the WHO.