Uganda Declared Free of Ebola by WHO After Passing Mandatory Monitoring Period

Uganda has officially been declared free of Ebola after the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the East African country successfully passed the mandatory 42-day monitoring period without recording any new cases. The announcement was made during a joint news conference held on Tuesday with Uganda’s Ministry of Health.

The declaration followed a similar announcement made approximately a month prior by Uganda, which had declared its local outbreak over based on its own internal analysis of the virus's spread. Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary for Uganda’s Health Ministry, told the national broadcaster NTV that officials had thoroughly assessed the risks, the transmission chain, and the dynamics of virus importation before determining they were free from Ebola. While Uganda had to wait for the WHO to complete its official process and guidelines, Atwine urged countries that had imposed travel restrictions during the outbreak to lift them so Ugandans could travel freely.

Uganda reported a total of 20 Ebola infections, with its last confirmed case recorded on June 21 and two deaths resulting from the virus. The final patient was discharged from the Mulago National Referral Isolation Centre on July 16, leading the Health Ministry to formally declare the outbreak over on July 28.

In contrast, the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to accelerate, with confirmed cases reaching 5,656 as of August 25 and total deaths rising to 2,715 according to government data cited by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Ituri province remains the epicenter of the DRC outbreak, prompting cross-border collaboration and support from Uganda, which shares an 877km (500-mile) border with the region. Kasonde Mwinga, the WHO’s representative for Uganda, noted that the country is supporting treatment and laboratory capacity at sites in Aru and Kasenyi, with plans to expand treatment centres and strengthen bilateral health security.