Uganda’s Health Ministry Reassures Airlines of Robust Mitigation Measures in Relation to Ebola
The Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Chris Baryomunsi reassured Airlines operating in and out of Entebbe International Airport that Uganda had put in place robust mitigation measures to prevent further importation and exportation of EBOLA.
The Minister made the remarks in a joint meeting with airlines hosted by Uganda Civil Aviation Authority at Entebbe International Airport’s VIP Press room on Friday, June 12, 2026.
“The Ministry of Health has a very robust health surveillance system that ensures that Ebola patients are identified, separated and treated in case of any such case to avoid spread within the country,” Dr. Baryomunsi said. He added that Ebola unlike Covid 19 is not an airborne disease and therefore cannot be spread from one person to another until an infected person’s body fluids are got in contact with. He reassured the Airlines that with the proper Standard operating procedures in place, the public can travel safely from and into Uganda. He noted that over the past few days, Uganda had not registered any new case of Ebola.
Dr. Baryomunsi announced that Uganda was going to assist with putting up treatment centres in DRC to prevent Ebola patients coming from DRC to Uganda for treatment. Government of Uganda was to contact World Health Organisation to make a distinction between the statistics of Uganda and DRC cases to avoid wrong information that had been disseminated by the media.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Diana Atwine reiterated the fact that Uganda had been transparent from the onset, promptly sharing information and implementing robust measures that have consistently prevented the exportation of Ebola cases beyond our borders.
“While we appreciate the need for vigilance, blanket restrictions undermine confidence in countries that report outbreaks openly, and are not commensurate with the actual risk. We thank the countries and airline operators that have kept their borders open, demonstrating confidence in Uganda’s evidence- based public health measures,” Dr. Atwine said.
In addition to the Airlines that attended, the majority were represented by the Chairperson, Board of Airline Representatives, Ms Lukia Otema and Chairperson, Air Operators Committee, Entebbe Airport, Ms. Maureen Kabure. The Airline representatives were requested to relay the re-assuring information which had been discussed to their Senior Management in their respective countries.