The Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr. Jean Kaseya, has called on the United States to lift travel restrictions imposed on Uganda over Ebola, asserting that the country has effectively contained the virus and recorded no new cases for nearly a month.
Formal Request to Rescind Travel Restrictions
Speaking at a press conference in Accra, Ghana, Kaseya revealed that he sent an official letter to US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., requesting an immediate review of travel measures. Kaseya emphasized that there is no remaining public health rationale for maintaining restrictions on Kampala.
Furthermore, the African health chief urged member states across the continent to support Uganda’s appeal, noting that lifting restrictions on countries making verified progress builds international confidence in regional health systems and promotes transparency in outbreak reporting.
Countdown to Declaring Uganda Ebola-Free
Kaseya noted that Uganda’s final recovering Ebola patient was successfully discharged from hospital care on July 16. This milestone officially launched the mandatory 42-day surveillance period stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) before a country can be declared free of the virus, provided no further cases emerge.
Uganda has recorded a total of 20 cases during the current outbreak, a stark contrast to over 2,400 cases logged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which remains the primary epicenter on the continent. Addressing recent US policy expansions affecting travelers from the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan, Kaseya underscored that easing restrictions on countries demonstrating tangible progress encourages international transparency and strengthens continental epidemic preparedness.
The Africa CDC’s call to lift travel bans highlights Uganda’s decisive containment of its Ebola outbreak and its entry into the final 42-day WHO countdown, demonstrating the importance of aligning international travel policies with verified epidemiological progress.
The Africa CDC’s call to lift travel bans highlights Uganda’s decisive containment of its Ebola outbreak and its entry into the final 42-day WHO countdown, demonstrating the importance of aligning international travel policies with verified epidemiological progress.
