World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has has said travel restrictions imposed on Uganda as a result of the Ebola outbreak first announced in May are unnecessary. Speaking to journalists shortly after touring Uganda’s main isolation center in Mulago on Monday, Tedros said countries that have imposed such restrictions need to reconsider because the country is reporting about the epidemic transparently and continued restrictions only affects the economy and doesn’t do much to counter the disease’ spread.
Shortly after Uganda announced an outbreak of Bundibugyo Ebola Outbreak in May, the United States issued an alert strictly limiting official travel to western Uganda discouraging US government employees from personal travel to the region. The US embassy also discouraged their employees from non-essential visits to healthcare facilities in Uganda.
In addition, the US has since barred entry to most foreign nationals and residents who have recently visited Uganda. Also, US citizens returning from affected countries are required to route through designated airports for enhanced screening and they undergo 21 days of monitoring.
Countries that have imposed the ban include Taiwan to which hundreds of Ugandan Rotarians had paid millions of dollars in bookings and visa fees to attend their annual convention, USA which allegedly wanted to set up its Ebola quarantine centre in Uganda, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan and Bahamas. Now the WHO boss says for a country like Uganda which has wide experience in handling such public health emergencies, travel bans are not the solution.
Uganda has so far recorded nineteen laboratory confirmed cases and according to Dr Daniel Kyabayinze, the Director Public Health in the Ministry of Health, of these, five have been discharged and those in care are responding well to supportive treatment. Ever since the confirmation of the outbreak on 15 May 2026, the country has not had another death apart from the first case of a Congolese national who had sought care at Kibuli Muslim Hospital.
Kyabayinze says fourteen of all confirmed cases are imported from the neighboring DRC or their caregivers and that there’s no community case picked from Uganda at all.
Ugandan authorities have previously protested the move by global agencies to lump up Uganda’s Ebola status with that of the neighboring DRC which has so far recorded hundreds of confirmed cases and dozens of deaths. Authorities in Uganda said reporting Ugandan Ebola together with that of the DRC had cost the country both in terms of tourism and causing unnecessary panic locally.
Now, “the World’s Doctor” Tedros Ghebreyesus said that this error has since been rectified noting that they have since realized that it created confusion and yet it’s important to dis-aggregate by country as this helps them determine the kind of response to mount.
Meanwhile, Uganda has also banned travel to and from the DRC as all direct flights have been suspended, while bus and boat border crossings have also been suspended for a period of thirty days-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
