The United Nations and its humanitarian partners have appealed for $15.8 million to support Uganda’s Ebola response efforts through August.
According to the UN, $3.1 million has already been mobilised. However, a significant funding gap of $12.7 million remains, raising concerns about the continued implementation of critical response measures.
The funding will help sustain surveillance, treatment, community engagement, and other essential interventions aimed at containing the outbreak and preventing further spread of the disease.
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UN spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday while briefing journalists at UN headquarters in New York on the national response plan to the Ebola outbreak
According to him, UNICEF, IOM and UNHCR are assisting with risk communication, border screening, surveillance and services in refugee settings, while the World Food Programme (WFP) has transported 33 metric tons of relief supplies to Bunia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Earlier this week, the head of WHO, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus visited Uganda, where he met with Government officials, the UN Team and partners.
He reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to the response and commended joint efforts to contain the outbreak.
He also urged Uganda to reconsider its decision to close its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo over the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
The WHO chief made the appeal during a visit to an Ebola isolation unit at a hospital in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.
He commended Uganda’s response to the outbreak, describing it as prompt and effective.
WHO has declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
The epicentre of the outbreak is in Ituri Province in eastern Congo, where the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says 515 of the country’s 544 confirmed cases have been recorded.
Uganda has reported 19 confirmed Ebola cases, most of which involved people who entered the country from Congo.
