Uganda calls on US to reconsider funding cuts to fight Ebola

Uganda has urged the US and other partners to reverse deep cuts in global health funding, warning that the withdrawal could hamper efforts to curb imported Ebola cases linked to an outbreak in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

A sudden cut in support for disease surveillance and healthcare programs has left African countries more vulnerable to epidemics, especially rare strains of Ebola that lack approved vaccines or treatments, Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi said on Thursday.

“The reduction was supposed to be gradual,” Baryomunsi, a public health specialist, said in an interview from the capital, Kampala. The cuts — most of which were announced last year — should not be made “suddenly because it creates huge gaps that can cause a crisis in our communities,” he said.

An outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has killed 139 people in Congo since the first cases were reported on May 15. The first confirmed cases were reported on May 15, and it is already the worst outbreak since 2018-20, when nearly 2,300 people died in Congo’s North Kivu and Ituri provinces. Uganda saw two people infected in the latest outbreak – both linked to travel from Congo, one of whom died.

Years of support from the US, the European Union and multilateral agencies have helped African countries strengthen HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and epidemic programs, Baryomunsi said. Those resources have since been cut following the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and the Trump administration’s cuts to foreign aid operations.

The minister welcomed the US State Department’s announcement on Tuesday that it would help set up up to 50 Ebola treatment clinics in Congo and Uganda through the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Currently, Uganda relies largely on its own health system to manage the epidemic.

“At the moment we are dealing with all cases using our medical facilities,” he said. “But certainly any support that comes to setting up treatment centers will be welcome.”

Uganda and the U.S. signed a bilateral health cooperation agreement in December worth about $2.3 billion over five years, less than the U.S. previously provided. It focuses on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, polio and disease surveillance.

The current outbreak involves a strain related to the Bundibugyo Ebola virus first detected in Uganda in 2007. There are no approved vaccines for this strain.

In addition to the two imported cases, authorities in Uganda have quarantined 65 contacts in isolation centers in the capital, Kampala. No other infections were confirmed.

Uganda has stepped up temperature checks and monitoring from border crossings to schools, but stopped short of restricting travel or other activities. Some major public events have been canceled while officials are considering whether others – including the Rwenzori Marathon in August, which attracts international athletes – should be postponed.

For the time being, Baryomunsi urged tourists and international visitors not to cancel travel plans, saying that the restrictive measures remain in place and the situation is under control.

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This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.