Ebola: UAE lifts travel restrictions on Ugandan nationals

What the report says

The United Arab Emirates has lifted travel and entry restrictions on Ugandan nationals that were introduced during Uganda’s Ebola outbreak, according to The Observer. The move was announced by the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, working with the health ministry and immigration authorities, after what officials described as a continued review of the public-health situation and Uganda’s completion of the monitoring period after the outbreak ended.

The Observer said the earlier curbs had also applied to nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, and those measures remain in force for now because of ongoing epidemiological concerns in those countries. The UAE first imposed the restrictions on June 6, 2026, as part of broader precautionary steps to reduce Ebola-related risk.

Uganda’s foreign affairs minister, Adonia Ayebare, said the decision followed talks with the UAE’s foreign minister on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. He said the reopening would still depend on a UAE delegation visiting Ugandan civil aviation and other institutions to assess preparedness.

The report said the change matters for Uganda’s labor-export sector, since many Ugandans work in the UAE in areas such as domestic work, hospitality, security and construction. It also noted that recruitment agencies had seen delays while visa processing was suspended.