The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Uganda free of Ebola, following the country's successful completion of the mandatory 42-day monitoring period without any new cases.
The announcement was made on Tuesday at a joint news conference with Uganda’s Ministry of Health. This declaration comes approximately one month after Uganda had initially announced the end of the local outbreak based on its own assessment of the virus's transmission.
"We had assessed the risk, we had assessed the whole chain of transmission and the dynamics of importation of the virus in the country, and we knew that we were free from Ebola," stated Diana Atwine, permanent secretary for Uganda’s Health Ministry, to NTV. She added, "However, WHO had to wait because that’s the process. That’s the guideline."
Atwine urged countries that had imposed travel restrictions on Uganda during the outbreak to lift them, stating, "Unless they have other reasons, they should definitely lift the restrictions off the country, and Ugandans should be free to travel to any country."
Uganda reported a total of 20 Ebola infections, with the last confirmed case on June 21. Two individuals succumbed to the virus during the outbreak. The final patient was discharged from the Mulago National Referral Isolation Centre on July 16, and the Health Ministry formally declared the outbreak over on July 28.
In contrast, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is reportedly accelerating. As of August 25, confirmed cases in the DRC reached 5,656, an increase of 72 from the previous day. Government data, cited by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, indicates a total of 2,715 deaths. Ituri province in the northeast of the DRC remains the epicentre, with over 4,700 infections.
Uganda shares a significant border with the DRC. Kasonde Mwinga, the WHO representative for Uganda, confirmed that the country is supporting treatment and laboratory capacity at two sites across the border in Aru and Kasenyi, within the Ituri province. Mwinga suggested that this cross-border collaboration model could be expanded regionally.
Uganda has also announced plans to open two additional Ebola treatment centres in the DRC, bringing the total to four. On Monday, Ugandan and Congolese officials convened in Kampala to review a bilateral memorandum of understanding concerning cross-border health security.
Kenneth Akiiri, undersecretary for Uganda’s Health Ministry, appealed for increased resource mobilization from the WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "When you are vulnerable and you have littler resources, you are supposed to raise an alarm for help," Akiiri said in a joint statement.
Adelard Lufungula, head of the DRC delegation, emphasized the need for decisive action against the virus, stating, "We want to fight Ebola like a war."
