Uganda rejects US claims on funding Ebola treatment clinics

Uganda’s health ministry has rejected a US State Department announcement that Washington is funding the establishment of up to 50 Ebola treatment clinics in Ebola-affected regions, including Uganda.

The Ebola outbreak was declared in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on May 16. It has caused 139 suspected deaths from about 600 probable cases, according to health officials. Two cases have also been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda.

A US State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday that Washington would fund 50 Ebola treatment units in outbreak areas in DR Congo and Uganda. The clinics are meant to deliver medical care and outbreak response capabilities.

But Uganda’s health ministry said on Wednesday that it had not been consulted about the treatment centres. The ministry said it was “not aware of where they may have been set up within the country.”

Uganda has recorded two imported Ebola cases: one death and one patient responding well to treatment. There are no local infections, the ministry said.

The United States has banned non-Americans who have been in DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days from entering the US.

SOURCE: Uganda health ministry