South Sudan: Uganda to Send Health Workers to South Sudan for Ebola Response
Uganda is planning to send health workers to South Sudan to assist in the response to an Ebola outbreak. The initiative aims to prevent the virus from crossing borders and spreading further into Uganda.
Why it matters
Regional cooperation in public health is vital for containing infectious disease outbreaks in areas with high population mobility.
Kampala - The government of Uganda is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of South Sudan to extend its support in the Ebola response by sending health workers.
Dr. Charles Ayume, the State for Health in charge of Primary Health Care, said the move is aimed at helping South Sudan respond to Ebola and prevent the virus from spreading into Uganda, given the free movement of people between the two neighbouring countries.
Uganda already deployed health workers to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to aid in the Ebola response, as the country continues to register a surge in cases.
During an engagement with leaders in West Nile in Arua, Ayume said that failure to respond to outbreaks in neighbouring countries poses a high risk of the disease spreading into Uganda. Uganda was last month declared Ebola-free after no new cases were registered or admitted.
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