Immediately after the September 20th declaration of an Ebola outbreak in Uganda in the country’s central Mubende district,the Ministry of Health has asked Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders to support its efforts in the fight against the spread of the disease.
On Wednesday 21 September, an MSF team of six persons, consisting mainly of doctors and logisticians, travelled to the town of Mubende to assess the situation and needs at the regional referral hospital where the first case was detected.
Since the assessment, MSF set up a 36 beds Ebola treatment centre at the Mubende hospital for confirmed and suspect cases. MSF will soon extend this unit by adding 20 to 40 new beds. In Madudu – the epicentre of the outbreak - our teams have also started setting up an additional treatment unit. The units will be managed by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
In addition, the MOH has asked MSF to contribute to the Ebola response through the support of staff with experience in hemorrhagic fever and to assess the possibilities of setting up an ebola center dedicated to health workers. We remain available to support further where needs are identified.
The last Ebola outbreak in the country occurred in 2019. MSF intervened in the country to support the Ugandan health authorities in the management of people who had been in contact with these confirmed cases, the establishment of an Ebola treatment unit and assistance in improving infection prevention and control measures.
Updated: 28th September 2022