WHO chief praises Uganda's Ebola response, urges reopening of DRC border
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited Kampala and met President Yoweri Museveni, praising Uganda's "prompt and capable response" to the Ebola outbreak that has spread from neighboring DR Congo. Uganda has recorded 19 confirmed cases and two deaths, with 14 cases imported from the DRC; the broader outbreak — driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain with no approved vaccine or treatment — has reached over 540-550 confirmed cases and 88-101 deaths, concentrated in DRC's conflict-ridden Ituri province. Tedros urged Uganda to reconsider its late-May border closure, arguing blanket travel restrictions don't work and damage the economy. The IMF said it is monitoring the economic impact on the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan but called it too early to assess broader effects.
Why it matters
Uganda has prior experience containing Ebola outbreaks, and effective cross-border surveillance is critical given Ituri's instability and porous trade routes. The tension between public-health containment and economic disruption — border closures leaving goods rotting — illustrates the recurring dilemma facing East African states amid recurrent hemorrhagic fever threats and a region already destabilized by conflict in eastern DRC.