KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda has officially been declared free of Ebola after completing the World Health Organization’s required 42-day period without recording a new case, marking the end of an outbreak that tested the country’s disease-surveillance and emergency-response systems.
The declaration was announced jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Uganda’s Ministry of Health at a news conference in Kampala, formally confirming that transmission of the virus linked to the latest outbreak had been interrupted.
Ugandan authorities had already declared the outbreak over on July 28 after their own assessment found no evidence of continuing transmission. The WHO confirmation followed the completion of the internationally recognised monitoring period required after the last known case.
The difference between the two declarations does not indicate that Uganda remained in an active outbreak for the intervening period. Instead, it reflected the additional procedural requirements applied by WHO before an outbreak can be formally declared over.
Diana Atwine, Uganda’s permanent secretary for health, said national authorities had assessed the risk of continued transmission, investigated the known transmission chain and considered the possibility of the virus being imported into the country.
“We had assessed the risk, we had assessed the whole chain of transmission and the dynamics of importation of the virus in the country, and we knew that we were free from Ebola,” Atwine told national broadcaster NTV.
“However, WHO had to wait because that’s the process. That’s the guideline.”
The formal declaration gives Uganda an important public-health milestone, but authorities remain conscious that the country is located next to an area where Ebola continues to pose a serious threat.
Uganda completes required monitoring period
Uganda recorded 20 Ebola infections during the outbreak, with two deaths attributed to the disease.
The country’s final confirmed case was identified on June 21. After treatment and monitoring, the last patient was discharged from the Mulago National Referral Isolation Centre on July 16.
Health authorities subsequently continued surveillance to determine whether any previously undetected transmission remained.
That surveillance period is central to the process of declaring an Ebola outbreak over. WHO’s 42-day benchmark provides health authorities with a period equivalent to twice the maximum 21-day incubation period generally used for Ebola virus disease.
Completing the period without detecting another case provides greater assurance that transmission has been stopped.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health therefore announced the national end of the outbreak on July 28, while the subsequent WHO declaration formally confirmed that the country had satisfied the required conditions.
The achievement is significant for Uganda because Ebola outbreaks can place enormous pressure on healthcare systems, particularly when health workers must establish isolation facilities, trace contacts, test suspected cases and protect themselves from infection.
The relatively limited number of cases recorded during this outbreak also reflects the importance of rapid detection and response.
Uganda seeks removal of travel restrictions
Following the WHO declaration, Uganda’s health authorities called on countries that introduced Ebola-related travel restrictions during the outbreak to lift those measures.
Atwine argued that once Uganda had fulfilled the requirements for being declared free of Ebola, restrictions specifically connected to the outbreak should no longer remain in place.
“Unless they have other reasons, they should definitely lift the restrictions off the country, and Ugandans should be free to travel to any country,” she said.
Travel restrictions imposed during disease outbreaks can have consequences that extend beyond public health. Uganda’s tourism industry, international business, transport networks, education sector and cross-border trade can all be affected when foreign governments impose additional screening or movement requirements.
The WHO declaration could therefore help restore confidence in travel to and from Uganda, although individual countries ultimately determine their own border and travel policies.
For Ugandan authorities, the priority now is to maintain surveillance while ensuring that the country’s health system remains prepared to respond quickly if another case is detected.
That need is particularly urgent because of developments in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ebola threat continues across Uganda’s border
Uganda’s return to Ebola-free status comes as the DRC continues to deal with a much larger outbreak.
According to the latest figures cited in the supplied report, confirmed Ebola cases in the DRC had reached 5,656 by August 25, while 2,715 deaths had been recorded.
The figures represented an increase of 72 confirmed cases from the previous day’s reported total, underlining the continuing intensity of transmission.
Ituri province in northeastern DRC remains the principal centre of the outbreak, with more than 4,700 infections reported there.
The geographical location of Ituri is particularly important for Uganda because the two countries share a long border and maintain extensive movement between communities on either side.
That proximity means Uganda cannot treat its own outbreak declaration as the end of its Ebola preparedness efforts.
People cross the border for commerce, employment, healthcare, family visits and other activities. During an active outbreak, such movement can create opportunities for an infected person to carry the virus from one affected area into another country.
Uganda therefore faces the unusual situation of celebrating the end of domestic transmission while simultaneously preparing for a potential threat originating only a short distance away.
Uganda supports Ebola response in DRC
Uganda is responding to that regional risk by assisting health authorities in northeastern DRC.
Kasonde Mwinga, WHO’s representative for Uganda, said Uganda was supporting treatment and laboratory capacity at two locations in Ituri province: Aru and Kasenyi.
The support is designed to strengthen the ability of health authorities to identify and manage suspected Ebola infections quickly.
Laboratory capacity is especially important during an outbreak because rapid testing can help distinguish Ebola from other illnesses with similar symptoms and allow confirmed patients to be isolated without unnecessary delay.
Uganda has also announced plans to establish two additional Ebola treatment centres in the DRC. The expansion would bring the total number of treatment facilities supported through the Ugandan effort to four.
The cross-border response reflects a broader principle of epidemic control: national borders cannot be relied upon to stop infectious diseases.
Mwinga said the cooperation between Uganda and the DRC could potentially be expanded into a wider regional model for responding to health emergencies.
Such cooperation could include joint surveillance, laboratory support, information sharing, healthcare-worker training and coordinated preparedness along border areas.
Kampala and Kinshasa strengthen health-security cooperation
The two neighbouring countries are also working through formal diplomatic and public-health channels.
Ugandan and Congolese officials met in Kampala on Monday to review a bilateral memorandum of understanding focused on cross-border health security.
The agreement is intended to strengthen cooperation when infectious diseases pose a threat to communities on both sides of the border.
That kind of coordination can be critical during an Ebola outbreak because delays in sharing information about suspected cases, contacts or movements can allow transmission chains to continue undetected.
Border communities also present unique challenges. Formal checkpoints are only part of the movement network, while residents living near borders may routinely move through informal routes for work, trade or family reasons.
Effective disease surveillance therefore requires cooperation not only between national governments but also among local health authorities and communities.
Health officials warn that resources remain essential
Ugandan officials have also appealed for additional international support.
Kenneth Akiiri, undersecretary at Uganda’s Ministry of Health, called on WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to mobilise more resources to strengthen the regional response.
“When you are vulnerable and you have littler resources, you are supposed to raise an alarm for help,” Akiiri said in a joint statement.
The appeal reflects the financial and logistical demands associated with preparing for high-risk infectious diseases.
Maintaining Ebola preparedness requires more than treatment centres. Countries need trained healthcare workers, protective equipment, functioning laboratories, surveillance networks, emergency transport, contact-tracing teams and communication systems capable of responding rapidly when a suspected infection emerges.
These systems can be expensive to maintain between outbreaks, but dismantling them after an outbreak ends can leave countries vulnerable when the next emergency occurs.
Uganda’s decision to support response facilities in the DRC indicates that authorities are treating the regional Ebola threat as an issue that requires sustained cooperation rather than a temporary emergency.
DRC calls for an aggressive response
The Congolese delegation has urged the international community and neighbouring countries to maintain a strong response to the outbreak.
Adelard Lufungula, who headed the DRC delegation, described the scale of the challenge in forceful terms.
“We want to fight Ebola like a war,” he said.
His comments underline the urgency surrounding the situation in Ituri, where continued transmission is placing pressure on local healthcare and response infrastructure.
The contrast between Uganda and the DRC demonstrates how quickly the epidemiological picture can differ across neighbouring countries.
Uganda has moved into the post-outbreak surveillance phase after successfully interrupting transmission. The DRC, meanwhile, continues to require intensive outbreak-control measures as cases and deaths rise.
What happens after Uganda’s declaration?
The WHO declaration does not mean Uganda can abandon Ebola surveillance.
Instead, the country enters a phase in which health officials must remain alert for possible imported infections and maintain the capacity to respond if a suspected case appears.
That is especially important given the continuing outbreak in the DRC.
The end of an Ebola outbreak is therefore better understood as a transition rather than a permanent removal of risk. Uganda has successfully stopped the current chain of transmission, but its geographical position means the country must continue monitoring developments across the border.
The immediate benefit of the WHO declaration is that Uganda can move forward without being classified as an area experiencing an active Ebola outbreak. Authorities can also press other governments to review restrictions imposed during the emergency.
At the same time, Uganda’s assistance to the DRC demonstrates that protecting its own population increasingly depends on strengthening health security throughout the wider region.
The latest development consequently represents two stories at once: Uganda has achieved an important public-health victory after recording only 20 infections and two deaths, while the wider Great Lakes region remains exposed to the consequences of Ebola transmission in northeastern DRC.
For Uganda, maintaining the systems that helped contain the outbreak may prove just as important as the declaration itself. Continued surveillance, rapid diagnosis, cross-border communication and international cooperation will remain central to preventing a new outbreak from taking hold.
The WHO declaration confirms that Uganda has cleared the immediate Ebola emergency. But with active transmission continuing across its border, the country’s health authorities are preparing for the next challenge: ensuring that the virus does not find a new route back into the country.
WHO Declares Uganda Ebola-Free After 42 Days Without New Cases
