EBOLA: UGANDA CALLS INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS “UNFAIR”

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Agency Report

Uganda has criticised air travel restrictions imposed by countries including the United States over an Ebola outbreak from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, describing them as “unfair”.

The east African country’s response has been broadly praised by public health officials, with only two deaths recorded out of 19 confirmed cases since mid-May.

Nearly all cases are Congolese nationals who crossed the border from the DRC, where more than 676 cases and 136 deaths have been reported since May 15.

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“Today, the Ugandan Health Ministry, together with the Civil Aviation Authority, Ambassadors, and airline operators serving Uganda, discussed the unfair travel restrictions imposed on Uganda due to the current Ebola situation,” Diana Atwine, permanent secretary for the health ministry, said on X on Friday.

“While we appreciate the need for vigilance, blanket restrictions undermine confidence in countries that report outbreaks openly, and are not commensurate with the actual risk.”

The United States, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates are among countries that have imposed entry bans on travellers from Uganda, the DRC, and neighbouring South Sudan over the outbreak.

While WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Uganda’s response during a visit on Monday, the UN health agency warned on Friday that the outbreak was spreading to new areas in the DRC.

No vaccine or specific treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola behind the outbreak, the 17th in the central African country.

The disease, spread through close contact and infected bodily fluids, has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.