Archival Sense
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 16, 2025
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Ministry of Health permanent Secretary, Dr. Diana Atwine, has revealed that Uganda would be willing to treat American Ebola patients if requested by the United States, highlighting the country's growing reputation in Ebola management and response.
Speaking in an interview with NTV, Dr. Atwine disclosed that the U.S. government initially approached Uganda with a proposal to have American citizens infected with Ebola treated in the country. However, before Uganda could formally respond, Washington shifted its focus to Kenya.
"Because they have not come back to us. That was the beginning before they talked to the Kenyans. So when they told us that they are now going to work with Kenyans, then we stopped. We don't have any arrangement with them now. There's no arrangement with them on treating their people here," Dr. Atwine said.
Despite the shift, she emphasized that Uganda remains open to providing treatment should the proposal be revived.
Dr. Atwine defended Uganda's decision to extend Ebola response efforts into the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying controlling the outbreak at its source remains the most effective strategy.
"That's why we are going to Congo to address that issue there. So if they have their people that are affected and they feel that we can treat them, we can treat them together with these other patients who we are treating," she added.
Uganda has so far recorded 19 confirmed Ebola cases since the outbreak began in eastern DRC's Ituri Province in mid-May. Of these, 14 are imported cases while five are Ugandan nationals. Thirteen patients remain under treatment, four have recovered and been discharged, while two people have died.
According to Dr. Atwine, local transmission within Uganda has remained extremely limited, with most infections linked to frontline health workers and transporters who handled infected patients crossing from the DRC.
"The local transmission has been very low. The biggest bulk of the people we are looking at now are the transporters of the sick from the border to Kampala and the health workers." she said.
The Ministry of Health has also acknowledged the challenge posed by porous border points between Uganda and the DRC, where movement remains difficult to control despite enhanced surveillance.
Although several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, United States, Canada, India and the Bahamas, have issued travel advisories following the outbreak, Ugandan health authorities maintain that the situation remains under control and that the country remains safe and open to visitors.
Video courtesy of NTV Uganda
Speaking in an interview with NTV, Dr. Atwine disclosed that the U.S. government initially approached Uganda with a proposal to have American citizens infected with Ebola treated in the country. However, before Uganda could formally respond, Washington shifted its focus to Kenya.
"Because they have not come back to us. That was the beginning before they talked to the Kenyans. So when they told us that they are now going to work with Kenyans, then we stopped. We don't have any arrangement with them now. There's no arrangement with them on treating their people here," Dr. Atwine said.
Despite the shift, she emphasized that Uganda remains open to providing treatment should the proposal be revived.
Dr. Atwine defended Uganda's decision to extend Ebola response efforts into the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying controlling the outbreak at its source remains the most effective strategy.
"That's why we are going to Congo to address that issue there. So if they have their people that are affected and they feel that we can treat them, we can treat them together with these other patients who we are treating," she added.
Uganda has so far recorded 19 confirmed Ebola cases since the outbreak began in eastern DRC's Ituri Province in mid-May. Of these, 14 are imported cases while five are Ugandan nationals. Thirteen patients remain under treatment, four have recovered and been discharged, while two people have died.
According to Dr. Atwine, local transmission within Uganda has remained extremely limited, with most infections linked to frontline health workers and transporters who handled infected patients crossing from the DRC.
"The local transmission has been very low. The biggest bulk of the people we are looking at now are the transporters of the sick from the border to Kampala and the health workers." she said.
The Ministry of Health has also acknowledged the challenge posed by porous border points between Uganda and the DRC, where movement remains difficult to control despite enhanced surveillance.
Although several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, United States, Canada, India and the Bahamas, have issued travel advisories following the outbreak, Ugandan health authorities maintain that the situation remains under control and that the country remains safe and open to visitors.
Video courtesy of NTV Uganda
