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Abstract The Ebola virus (EBOV) remains a major public health challenge due to its complex structure and the lack of appropriate and effective vaccines and therapies. This review characterizes the Ebola virus, its immune response, and its therapeutic challenges. Structural EBOV proteins include the envelope glycoprotein, nucleoprotein, RNA polymerase L, and viral proteins VP30, VP24, VP35, and VP40. The proteins play a role in the virus’s pathogenesis by evading the host's immune response. The immune system evasion mechanisms of EBOV are critical in its pathogenesis. Some vaccines, such as the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus-Zaire Ebola virus (RVSV-ZEBOV), have proven to be very effective and have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) additionally, four other vaccines have been approved including Gam Evac-Combi (licensed in Russia), ad5-EBOV (approved in China), Zabdeno and Mvabea (approved in Europe). However, some challenges remain in developing effective vaccines, such as the selection of immunogens, cross-protecting immunity, long-term protection, mechanism of protection, and rapid response vaccination. Despite the progress made, there is still a need for an effective vaccine that offers durable and broad protection against multiple strains of the Ebola virus. This will be achieved through the collaboration of various organizations and government and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) agencies.