AfDB gives Uganda $1m for Ebola response programme

A man receives a vaccine against Ebola from a nurse outside the Afia Himbi Health Centre in Goma, DR Congo on July 15, 2019. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has released a $1 million to help Uganda prevent Ebola transmission. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• Ebola killed two children in Uganda last year, and also killed more than 2,000 people out of the more than 3,300 declared cases of Ebola in the DR Congo.

By VALERIE KOGA
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Kampala,

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has released a $1 million to help Uganda in its efforts to prevent transmission of Ebola.

Uganda last year asked the bank to support its National Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) Preparedness and Response Plan, following an outbreak of the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo that spread to Uganda’s borders.

The funds, approved in January, have been disbursed through the World Health Organization (WHO), which is the implementing agency, a press statement released on Wednesday by AfDB said.

The disease killed a five-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl in Uganda last year. Both children had travelled with their families from DR Congo. The disease has also killed more than 2,000 people out of the more than 3,300 declared cases of Ebola in the DR Congo.

Since the outbreak last August, Uganda has maintained screening centres along its border with the DRC in an effort to stop the spread of the virus and has several isolation centres.

The money from AfDB will be used for the management of Ebola cases in Uganda, including the procurement and distribution of medical supplies, and the care of people affected by the disease.

The grant will also be used to train personnel and ensure preparedness to deal with Ebola emergencies.

The AfDB praised the Ugandan government for its vigilance, and urged other development partners to support the country's efforts to stem spread of the disease and prevent new outbreaks.

Ebola is a virus that causes severe bleeding and organ failure and is highly fatal and contagious. It is spread through contact with the body fluids such as vomit, blood or faeces of a person sick with the disease. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat.