Uganda condemns air travel restrictions over Ebola

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

The East African country’s response to the outbreak has been praised by public health officials. Uganda has recorded 19 confirmed cases and two deaths since the alarm was raised in DRC in mid-May. Almost all of the infected people were Congolese nationals who crossed the border. DRC has confirmed 676 cases and 136 deaths since May 15.

“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 Friday on X.

“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.”

Besides the United States, Canada and the United Arab Emirates have imposed entry bans on travellers from Uganda, DRC and neighbouring South Sudan.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Kampala’s strategy during a visit on Monday. However, the WHO warned on Friday that the outbreak was spreading to new areas in DRC.

No vaccine or specific treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for the latest outbreak. The disease spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids and has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.

SOURCE: AFP