Uganda Sets Up Ebola Treatment Capacity in DRC to Block Re-Importation

What the report says

Uganda is extending its Ebola response beyond its own borders by helping build treatment capacity in the Democratic Republic of Congo and reinforcing surveillance along major cross-border movement routes, according to the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization. The effort is meant to reduce the risk of Ebola being reintroduced into Uganda while also supporting control of the outbreak in the DRC.

Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Dr Diana Atwine said Uganda cannot fully stop movement across the border because trade, humanitarian work, security operations and essential travel must continue. She said the government is therefore focusing on screening, monitoring travellers and following up suspected cases, especially in border districts and among people such as traders and truck drivers. The approach also aims to bring care closer to communities so people with symptoms do not travel farther into Uganda before getting treatment.

Atwine made the comments during the handover of a mobile Biosafety Level Three laboratory to the Ministry of Health. The unit, funded through the African Development Bank via the WHO, can be transported quickly to outbreak locations and used to test for Ebola and other dangerous diseases. WHO Representative Dr Kasonde Mwinga said such laboratory systems are central to early detection and response, particularly in remote areas. The announcement came as Uganda marked 42 days without a new confirmed Ebola case, but officials warned that the region still faces serious risk.