Ayume said Uganda’s experience from responding to repeated Ebola outbreaks has transformed the country’s public health capacity, enabling it to contribute directly to regional disease control efforts.
Speaking after the Ministry of Health declared the end of the 2026 Ebola outbreak, Ayume said Uganda has expanded its response from managing domestic outbreaks to helping neighbouring countries contain the disease at its source.
“We have built a lot of capacity and we are now even able to export it. We have opened two Ebola treatment centres in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and these are not foreign experts. These are Ugandan doctors and Ugandan health workers,” Ayume said.
He said Uganda’s Ebola response protocols have also gained international recognition and are increasingly being referenced by global public health experts.
“As a country, we have built our own protocols, and these are now being referenced by international scholars,” he said.
Ayume attributed the country’s progress to lessons learned from nine Ebola outbreaks, saying each response has strengthened Uganda’s health system.
He noted that awareness among the public has improved significantly since the country’s devastating Ebola outbreak in 2001, which claimed many lives, including health workers.
According to the minister, communities are now more informed about Ebola symptoms and are increasingly reporting suspected cases to health authorities.
“We have seen people volunteering information. Even when some of the information turns out to be false, it is still important because it shows people are alert,” he said.
Ayume also highlighted Uganda’s growing contribution to scientific research, saying local institutions continue to support studies on potential Ebola vaccines through the Uganda Virus Research Institute.
He said the government has also strengthened its ability to finance emergency responses without waiting for donor support.
“This time round, we did not wait for financing from outside. Parliament was able to allocate the initial Shs5 billion that enabled us to immediately begin managing the outbreak,” he said.
The minister said the availability of domestic funding allowed health authorities to rapidly deploy response teams, strengthen surveillance and provide treatment without delays.
He added that despite the Ebola response, essential health services continued across the country.
“The health sector remained functional. Maternal and child health services, malaria programmes and other essential services continued in the background,” Ayume said.
Uganda declared the end of the 2026 Ebola outbreak after completing the mandatory 42-day monitoring period without recording any new infections.
Health authorities have nevertheless maintained heightened surveillance, particularly along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Ebola transmission remains a public health concern.
Ayume said Uganda will continue strengthening preparedness and regional cooperation to ensure the country remains ready to respond to future outbreaks while supporting neighbouring states in containing the disease.