The Ugandan government has sharply criticized the international community for imposing severe travel restrictions on its citizens, arguing the country is being “punished for its transparency” despite running a highly effective containment operation.
The protest comes as the Ministry of Health announced significant progress in managing the current outbreak, which involves mostly imported cases. On Thursday, health officials discharged four fully recovered Ebola patients and released 270 people who successfully completed their mandatory 21-day quarantine period.
Speaking at a joint press briefing with the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region and representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Dr. Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary for Uganda’s Ministry of Health, expressed deep frustration over the diplomatic and economic isolation facing the country.
“Uganda has so far registered 15 positive cases; the index case died,” Dr. Atwine stated. “Four so far have been discharged as of this morning, and for the contacts, we have so far discharged 270 who have completed 21 days under quarantine, out of the 620 monitored.”
Dr. Atwine fiercely defended Uganda’s track record, reminding the international community of the nation’s extensive experience and specialized infrastructure for handling viral hemorrhagic fevers.
“Uganda has had nine Ebola outbreaks so far, but we have never exported any Ebola case outside our borders. We have the most effective contact tracing and management system. Our contacts are always quarantined, and so we are sure they will not leave to spread,” Dr. Atwine said.
To prevent cross-border transmission, Uganda has instituted a strict “no-fly” restriction at all major ports of entry.
“We share our contact list with all the people managing the travel industry, including immigration and foreign affairs,” she explained.
Despite these stringent measures, several Western nations have clamped down on travel from Uganda. Dr. Atwine suggested that the country’s open communication strategy has backfired internationally.
“We feel that we, as a country, have been a victim of transparency; the more we communicate, the more we are blocked, the more we are locked out, the more our citizens are stopped from travel,” she said. “For us, this is unfair… we do register dissatisfaction as a country because of the way we have been treated.”
The WHO has backed Uganda’s stance. Prof. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, the WHO African Region Director, appealed to global leaders to halt “blanket travel restrictions,” emphasizing that the medical context of Ebola does not warrant COVID-19-style lockdowns.
“Ebola Virus Disease is not an airborne disease like COVID-19,” Prof. Janabi stated, warning that arbitrary border closures inflict severe, unnecessary damage on local economies and civilian well-being.
The diplomatic friction intensified following a decision by the WHO on May 17 to declare the combined Ebola outbreaks in the DRC and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Ugandan officials note that many international bodies are conflating the figures of both countries, worsening the panic.
In the wake of the PHEIC declaration, Western nations moved quickly to restrict travel.
On May 17, the U.S. State Department elevated its travel advisory for Uganda to “Level 4 – Do Not Travel,” citing the health situation alongside existing security concerns. By May 18, the U.S. government took the further step of temporarily pausing all visa operations at the U.S. Embassy in Kampala.
On May 26, the Canadian government issued its own alert, advising citizens to “avoid non-essential travel to Uganda due to the outbreak of Ebola disease.”
Ugandan health officials maintain that the outbreak is entirely under control domestically, calling on global partners to review their policies based on epidemiological facts rather than fear.