Amref Health Africa takes leading role in Uganda’s Ebola response

June 18, 2026

As soon as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a public health emergency of international concern, Amref Health Africa’s teams sprung into action. In Uganda, Amref built on previous experience of Ebola as well as COVID-19 to swiftly put in place a community-centred response that aims to protect the people most at risk.

To date, most of the confirmed cases of Ebola in Uganda* are in people who came into the country from the neighbouring DR Congo, the current epicentre of the outbreak. Amref Uganda is therefore prioritising high-risk border crossings (referred to as points of entry) as well as districts on the border with South Sudan, where there is constant population movement as people flee the fighting in South Sudan and seek safety in Uganda.

Working closely with the Government of Uganda, Amref Uganda is prioritising:

Community-level awareness-raising, risk communication, and surveillance in Northern Uganda, focusing on border crossings and high-volume health facilities.

Supporting frontline health workers through training and the provision of PPE (personal protective equipment). As always, our interventions recognise the critical role of Village Health Teams (VHTs) – the Ugandan equivalent of Community Health Workers – in preventing transmission, addressing misinformation, and supporting adherence to infection prevention and control measures. VHTs are members of the communities they support and, as such, are trusted sources of information.

Water, sanitation and hygiene in the service of infection prevention and control, including the provision of hand-washing facilities and hand-washing demonstrations.

Surveillance, coordination and monitoring at six points of entry (i.e. border crossings) on the borders with the DR Congo and South Sudan, including screening via temperature checking: crucial to the prevention of cross-border transmission. Suspected cases are evacuated to a dedicated Ebola Isolation Unit in Kampala.
Strategic and technical support and advice: Amref brings our experience, and our knowledge of communities’ most urgent needs, to bear in national and sub-national Ebola response coordination mechanisms. We ensure that community voices are heard in the rooms where decisions are made.

*As of 18th June, a total of 19 cases had been confirmed in Uganda, with no cases confirmed for almost two weeks – suggesting that rigorous infection prevention efforts are paying off.

Within two weeks of launching our activities, Amref Uganda had:

Supported the screening of travelers at six Points of Entry bordering the DR Congo and South Sudan, including through the provision of PPE and temperature guns,
Conducted awareness-raising “road drives” in four high-risk districts,
Provided refresher training for 140 VHTs (Village Health Teams – the Ugandan equivalent of Community Health Workers) on infection prevention and control,
Equipped almost 200 front-line health workers with face masks and shields, goggles, gloves, heavy-duty aprons, gumboots, and hand sanitiser,
Supported the evacuation of 35 suspected cases to dedicated Ebola Isolation Units in Kampala.

We were able to act quickly thanks to the supporters and partners who answered our calls for help in the early days of the outbreak: thank you.

(Data accurate as of 18th June)

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