Uganda is setting up frontline medical camps inside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to intercept and treat Ebola patients before they cross the border.
The aggressive cross-border health strategy aims to contain the viral outbreak closer to its source. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni reviewed and approved the plan during a high-level security and health briefing at State House Entebbe.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, attended the meeting alongside senior international health diplomats. President Museveni revealed that he has already held bilateral talks with the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, H.E. Félix Tshisekedi, to secure regional cooperation.
“We have been engaging our counterparts in the DRC to ensure that we work together in addressing this challenge,” President Museveni noted.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine, confirmed that Uganda is currently managing 19 validated Ebola cases. Out of these, 14 individuals belong to a single family that crossed into the country from the DRC.
Dr. Atwine highlighted that the country’s containment protocols are working well. No new infections have been recorded in the last three days.
“Our surveillance and response teams remain fully engaged. We continue to monitor contacts, strengthen screening measures, and ensure that all suspected cases are promptly identified and managed,” Dr. Atwine explained.
The Permanent Secretary stated that the Ministry of Health has mapped out four strategic border locations within the DRC to construct immediate isolation and treatment centers. She explained that many Congolese nationals naturally flee to Uganda for emergency healthcare because they trust the country's superior epidemic response management systems.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, strongly endorsed the creation of the external field hospitals. He noted that the facilities will drastically minimize the dangerous physical movement of infected patients across international borders.
President Museveni instructed health logistics teams to build the medical outposts right at the edge of the frontier.
“It should be near the border, not far inside the DRC, because we are targeting those who are trying to escape and seek treatment elsewhere,” the President advised.
To fully insulate the population, the government took the difficult decision to suspend the annual Uganda Martyrs Day celebrations at Namugongo. The massive religious gathering routinely draws over three million international pilgrims into the heart of Uganda.
Dr. Tedros highly commended the Head of State for putting public safety ahead of cultural traditions.
“Thank you for stopping the Martyrs Day celebrations. It was going to be a super-spreader event,” Dr. Tedros told President Museveni.
The WHO chief praised Uganda’s historical expertise in managing hemorrhagic fevers. He promised that the international community will provide additional financial resources, logistics, and expert personnel to totally crush the outbreak.
