Uganda Contains Ebola Cases as WHO Chief Visits, Urges DRC Cooperation

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: News websites

8 Jun 2026 20:24

3 Min Read

WHO chief Tedros praises Uganda's Ebola response while urging authorities to reopen the DRC border to sustain regional containment efforts.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus arrived in Uganda on Monday, visiting an Ebola isolation unit in Kampala and urging Ugandan authorities to reconsider their decision to close the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), warning that shutting crossings could hamper the coordinated regional response needed to contain the outbreak, Daily Monitor reported.

While praising Uganda's "prompt and capable" handling of the crisis, Tedros stressed that cross-border collaboration, not closure, was the key to ending the threat.

"The country's surveillance, testing, and case management systems are doing steady work," he said, adding that the WHO and the Africa CDC are actively supporting the government-led response.

His remarks came fresh from a high-stakes assessment tour of the DRC, where the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus first emerged and continues to drive the regional outbreak.

Ebola in Uganda

Uganda has registered a cumulative total of 19 confirmed cases as of June 6, according to a weekend situation report from the Ministry of Health, which also reported zero new cases in its latest specific update, a signal that containment measures may be gaining traction.

Of the 19 cases, 14 involve individuals who contracted the virus in the DRC and crossed into Uganda, while five are locally confirmed Ugandan nationals. Thirteen patients are currently receiving medical care, four have been successfully discharged, and two deaths have been recorded, both among imported cases.

The figures, while comparatively modest, sit against a far more alarming backdrop in the DRC, where the outbreak has reached 381 confirmed cases and 64 confirmed deaths, with transmission concentrated in Ituri province and spreading into North Kivu and South Kivu.

The Bundibugyo strain, one of the rarer species of Ebola virus, has no approved vaccine or treatment.

$518mln regional plan unveiled

The institutional response has also scaled up significantly.

On June 5, WHO and the Africa CDC jointly unveiled a $518 million, six-month continental response plan running through November, consolidating emergency coordination, surveillance, clinical care, and community engagement under a unified framework. "The only way to beat this outbreak is through close partnership," Tedros said at the plan's launch.

Uganda's Ministry of Health has sought to reassure the public that the outbreak remains tightly managed and the country is safe, an assessment Tedros echoed.