US Offers $242million Additional Funding for Ebola Fight, Maintains Travel Ban on Uganda

The United States has announced an additional US$242 million in funding to strengthen Ebola response and preparedness efforts across the region, reinforcing international support for countries at risk of future outbreaks. In a statement released Wednesday evening, the United States Department said the new funding is aligned with the U.S. government’s commitment at the G7 Leaders’ Summit on June 16 to provide up to an additional $500 million on Ebola response efforts.

“The Department of State’s assistance announcements to combat the outbreak have now exceeded $512 million in direct assistance, enabling implementing organizations to expand the ongoing response in Africa. This is in addition to $350 million for critical humanitarian assistance in the DRC, South Sudan, and Uganda, as part of our $1.8 billion in assistance to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced on May 14,” the statement reads in part.

The new money comes just weeks after authorities in Uganda announced the end of the outbreak that had the country record twenty positive cases, of which fifteen were Congolese nationals who left DRC to seek care in the country. Ever since this end of Ebola announcement by Uganda’s Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi on July 28, health bodies including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have been calling upon the United States to lift the travel ban on the country, which was instituted in light of Ebola.

Speaking at a Press Conference at the Vice President’s office in Kampala on Monday night, Dr Jean Kaseya, the Africa CDC Director General, revealed that he had written to the United States urging them to lift the ban because they didn’t expect travel restrictions but support for them to quickly respond to the outbreak. Acknowledging that the United States is the biggest funder for the Ebola response, Kaseya said the continued restrictions on travel to countries like South Sudan and Uganda, while France, which has an active case, is not under a ban, show double standards and stigmatize the African people.

On his part, Dr Muhammed Yakub Janabi, the WHO regional Director for Africa, said such decisions as travel bans are not backed by science.

However, in their latest statement, the US maintains that Uganda and South Sudan remain at Level 4 – Do Not Travel even as the countries do not have active cases currently. “Americans should not travel for any reason to these countries. The Department of State continues to work closely with the CDC, the lead federal agency for this response, to mobilize our global resources in support of this outbreak response, while putting the protection of Americans and preventing Ebola from reaching the American homeland first”, the statement says.