The United Nations has launched an emergency appeal to raise $11.2 million to support Uganda’s response to an Ebola outbreak that has claimed two lives, as the country grapples with reduced health funding due to U.S. aid cuts.
The outbreak was declared in January after a male nurse died at Uganda’s national referral hospital in the capital, Kampala. A second victim, a four-year-old child, succumbed to the disease last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed, citing Uganda’s health ministry.
So far, 10 cases have been recorded, all linked to the Sudan strain of Ebola, which has no approved vaccine.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the U.N. said the requested funds would support Ebola containment efforts from March to May across seven high-risk districts.
“Our goal is to swiftly control the outbreak and mitigate its impact on public health and the socio-economic well-being of affected communities,” said Kasonde Mwinga, WHO’s representative in Uganda.
Uganda has historically relied on U.S. funding for its health sector. During the country’s last Ebola outbreak in 2022-2023, the U.S. contributed $34 million for surveillance, case management, diagnostics, infection control, and other response measures, according to a U.S. Embassy report.
However, President Donald Trump’s administration imposed an aid freeze, leading to significant cuts in U.S. health assistance, which has strained Uganda’s public health system, government officials say.
Uganda’s Health Ministry spokesperson, Emmanuel Ainebyoona, has yet to comment on the funding challenges.
Speaking in Geneva after a visit to Uganda, Dr. Janet Diaz of WHO’s Health Emergencies Program said the agency has had to step in to cover critical response activities previously handled by other groups, including deploying border surveillance teams and managing biological samples.
Ebola, a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever, is transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids and tissues. Symptoms include fever, headache, and muscle pain.