The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
COMMENT | OBED K KATUREEBE | On the 30th of May, 2026, Ugandans woke up to a screaming headline by Al Jazeera news live, where it was alleged that 263 people had died of Ebola in both the DRC and Uganda. Of course, Al Jazeera depicted lazy journalism while reporting this pandemic, or they chose to go sensational for reasons best known to themselves. The story was just generic and lacked basic details.
Both Uganda and DRC Congo have their own figures as far as this Ebola pandemic is concerned. And this is public information, so one can’t comprehend why the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) chose to lump us up with the DRC, as if Uganda were not a sovereign state to be judged by its own statistics!
For the record, until today, Uganda has registered one fatality case out of the 9 infections so far identified. Three are Congolese, four medical workers who treated them, one driver who drove them and one other known contact. These are being medically managed, and some have been discharged after testing negative.
The Ministry of Health remain vigilant and have increased their level of vigilance, especially across the districts that border the DRC. Together with partners like the Africa CDC and World Health Organization (WHO), the government of Uganda is in control and without a doubt will manage this disease. This is not the first time Uganda has tamed the Ebola pandemic within its territories. In fact, this plague is the ninth since Ebola began threatening Ugandans. And all these have been controlled with very limited fatalities.
The Entebbe Virus Research Institute has the best virology laboratory in the region. In 2000, Uganda registered the first case of Ebola in Lacor Hospital, in Gulu City. Unfortunately, it claimed one of our distinguished doctors, Dr Matthew Lukwiya. Since then, several other variants of Ebola have struck, but our medical experts have always contained the situation. The Entebbe Virus Research Institute has been equipped and is now a center of excellence in viral diseases.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health and scientists have indeed cultivated global-leading expertise in managing and controlling Ebola. Having faced multiple outbreaks of different viral strains (including Zaire, Sudan and Bundibugyo), Uganda has honed its rapid response, contact tracing and treatment protocols to become a globally recognized model for disease containment.
Uganda contains Ebola outbreaks through a tried-and-true strategy centered around rapid detection, aggressive contact tracing, community mobilization and decentralized mobile laboratories. This highly effective model is executed by the Ministry of Health, alongside partners like the World Health Organisation and UNICEF.
Uganda’s success, in taming these outbreaks relies on mobile laboratories in affected districts, so samples do not have to be sent to the central Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) in Entebbe, dramatically cutting wait times for results. A robust health system allows for quick turnaround times—often returning diagnostic results within 24 hours of testing at border or localized clinics.
Therefore, those that are making these out-of-proportion statements should, on the contrary, come to Uganda to learn from our expertise. This does not mean that we are not taking precautions as a country. We have set up Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) especially where people gather in huge numbers. In the meantime, schools and markets are operating normally.
It is sad that tourists have cancelled flights to Uganda in their hundreds, largely because of careless and reckless reporting like Al Jazeera’s.
By spreading unverified rumours and sensational data, which directly undermines public health efforts, this in the end causes widespread panic, disrupts the economy, encourages the use of dangerous unproven treatments, and severely damages the reputation of the country in its effort to manage such a crisis.
Uganda’s open policy in managing our affairs is being abused, as a country that does not find it wise to hide information when we are faced with a pandemic. Indeed, when the rest of the world was still shy to talk about HIV/Aids in the 1980s, President Yoweri Museveni came out boldly to tell the world about the strange disease then. He began speaking openly about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s following his rise to power in 1986. Rather than making a single announcement, he championed a highly visible, grassroots and top-down national awareness campaign that shattered the taboo of silence.
His historic strategy defied cultural taboos to discuss sex openly. Museveni travelled to villages and local councils to educate the public about the virus, making him the first African leader to directly confront HIV/AIDS.
Therefore, the Ministry of Health is on top of the challenge, and no wonder since the outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo, there is only one fatality, as earlier mentioned. The Ministry of Health is effectively managing the Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease outbreak following its detection. The government rapidly activated national and subnational response structures, earning widespread commendation for its swift containment, contact tracing and isolation protocols.
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The writer works with Uganda Media Centre
