Uganda has criticized air travel restrictions imposed by countries, including the United States, due to the Ebola outbreak that has spread to the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, calling them "unfair".
The East African country's response to the latest outbreak of deadly hemorrhagic fever has been widely praised by public health officials, with only two deaths out of 19 confirmed cases since the alarm was raised in the DRC in mid-May.
Almost all were Congolese nationals who had crossed the border from their country of origin, where more than 676 cases have been confirmed and 136 people have died since May 15.
Today, the Ugandan Ministry of Health, the Civil Aviation Authority, ambassadors and airline operators serving Uganda discussed the unfair travel restrictions imposed on Uganda due to the current Ebola situation," said Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, on X Friday.
"While we are aware of the need to be vigilant, blanket restrictions undermine confidence in countries that openly report outbreaks, and are not proportionate to the actual risk."
Besides the United States, Canada and the United Arab Emirates are among the countries that have imposed entry bans on travelers from Uganda, the DRC and neighboring South Sudan following the outbreak.
While the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, praised Kampala's strategy during a visit to Uganda on Monday, the United Nations health agency warned on Friday that the outbreak was spreading to new areas of neighboring DRC.
There is no vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for the latest outbreak, the 17th to hit this vast Central African country.
The disease, which is transmitted through close contact and infected bodily fluids, has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.
