Uganda says it is not aware of Ebola clinics promised by US

JUBA, South Sudan – Authorities in Uganda said May 21 that they were not aware of US plans to fund treatment clinics to fight an Ebola outbreak in the region, in a sign of confusion over the global coordination of efforts to stop the virus from spreading.

The State Department said on May 19 that it was funding up to 50 clinics and covering “associated front-line costs” in Congo and Uganda, through the United Nations office that coordinates humanitarian affairs, as part of a broader response to the outbreak.

The outbreak, which was first identified in May in Congo’s north-eastern Ituri province, has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization.

The State Department did not say exactly where the clinics would be established. It said on May 19 that they would be “rapidly deployed” and were meant to “strengthen outbreak containment”.

But Uganda’s Health Ministry said on May 21 that it had had no communication with the US government about the treatment centers.

“I don’t know the ones they are talking about,” Dr Diana Atwine, the Health Ministry’s permanent secretary, said in an interview. “Maybe that is their future plan. Or maybe it’s for Congo, not Uganda. We are not aware.”

Authorities in Congo did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the US announcement.

The announcement followed criticism of the Trump administration by international health experts, who have argued that cuts to foreign aid and the closure of the US Agency for International Development have made it harder for the WHO and countries affected by Ebola to combat the outbreak.

The State Department also said this week that it was sending US$23 million (S$29 million) to Congo and Uganda that would go toward protective equipment and other resources. It was not immediately clear whether authorities in Congo and in Uganda had received or discussed that aid.

The confusion over the US announcement comes as countries are ramping up efforts to fight the outbreak, which is suspected to have caused more than 130 deaths and nearly 600 infections, according to the WHO.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the public health body of the African Union, urged member states to support efforts to curb the outbreak. South Africa’s government has pledged US$2.5 million. Britain said on May 21 that it had set aside £20 million (S$34 million) to support the WHO and non-governmental organisations.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on May 21 that it was sending volunteers to go door to door among communities in eastern Congo, providing information about the virus.

“Families are also being advised not to touch or wash the bodies of suspected Ebola victims, as this remains one of the most common routes of transmission during outbreaks,” the organisation said in a statement. “On the first day of activities, Red Cross volunteers reached 645 families.”

Western Uganda borders Congo’s Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, and many people cross that frontier each day. But authorities in Uganda have insisted that the country is safe and prepared to deal with the virus.

In a statement on May 21, the chief government spokesperson, Mr Alan Kasujja, said the only person being treated for the virus in the country was a Congolese national. An additional Congolese person had died of Ebola in Uganda after coming to the country for treatment.

“No Ugandan person or person living in Uganda has Ebola,” Mr Kasujja said.

Uganda’s president, Mr Yoweri Museveni, said on May 17 that the government had postponed an annual Catholic festival set for June 3 that usually attracts worshippers from across the border in Congo.

Many tourists undertake treks to look at mountain gorillas in south-western Uganda, near the borders of Congo and Rwanda. The country’s tourism board said this week that while people should observe standard hygiene practices, Uganda remained “safe, open and welcoming for tourism, business and investment.” NYTIMES

• Musinguzi Blanshe contributed reporting from Kampala, Uganda.