The European Union has announced an additional emergency humanitarian aid package of €200,000 to support Uganda’s efforts in containing the recent outbreak of the Sudan Ebola virus.
The funding, confirmed in a statement released on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, is aimed at mitigating the spread of the deadly virus and strengthening the country’s response mechanisms.
“The EU stands in solidarity with Uganda in the fight against this deadly outbreak. Our emergency funding will support rapid response efforts to curb the spread of the virus and provide crucial aid to affected communities,” the statement read in part.
An outbreak of the Sudan strain of the Ebola virus was declared in Uganda on January 30, 2025, by the Ministry of Health, following confirmation from three national reference laboratories.
According to official reports, the first confirmed case developed symptoms between January 20 and 21 and died on January 29 at the National Referral Hospital in Kampala. By January 30, health authorities had identified 45 contacts, including 34 healthcare workers and 11 family members.
The EU funding will bolster the efforts of the Ugandan Red Cross Society (URCS) in delivering key interventions, including coordination, risk communication, surveillance and contact tracing, emergency medical services, psychosocial support, safe burials, and hygiene promotion.
“The financial support from the EU will go a long way in enhancing Uganda’s response capacity. It will help ensure swift contact tracing, improved medical services, and strengthened community engagement to curb further transmission,” the statement added.
The emergency response project will run for an initial four months, covering a 42-day monitoring period after the last confirmed case and an additional 90-day post-outbreak surveillance period to prevent further transmission. The project, expected to continue until the end of June 2025, aims to reach 520,000 people in Uganda’s eastern and central regions.
The funding is part of the EU’s overall contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Uganda is currently experiencing its eighth Ebola outbreak. Sudan virus disease (SVD) belongs to the same family as Ebola virus disease and has a high fatality rate of between 41% and 70% in past outbreaks. The most recent previous outbreak of the Sudan Ebola virus occurred in Mubende district in 2022.
