Top officials of the World Health Organization(WHO) have arrived in Uganda to intensify the Ebola outbreak response efforts in the country.
Senior Public Relations Officer at the Ugandan Ministry of Health, Emmanuel Ainebyoona, confirmed the arrival of WHO top officials into the country on Monday.
The high-profile WHO officials currently in Uganda are; WHO Executive Director Dr. Michael Ryan; Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) Director of Programme Management Dr Joseph Cabore; AFRO Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response Dr Gueye Abdou Salam, and AFRO Emergency Operations Manager, Dr Fiona Braka.
Read also: One reported dead in Ebola outbreak in Uganda
The Senior Public Relations Officer said Ugandan health authorities and the WHO delegation will hold a meeting on health related issues.
“We have a meeting this week that will attract health officials from a number of countries,” Emmanuel Ainebyoona told the press without giving details of the scheduled meeting.
World Health Organization representative to Uganda, Dr. Yonas Woldemariam announced the arrival of the team in a letter addressed to Uganda Health Minister Dr. Ruth Aceng, dated October 9, 2022.
Dr. Yonas Woldemariam said the main objective of the team’s visit is to participate in a high-profile emergency ministerial meeting.
The meeting scheduled for Wednesday, October 12 will mainly focus on cross-border collaboration for preparedness and response to Ebola virus disease, the letter hinted.
Dr. Yonas further told Ugandan Health Minister Dr. Ruth Aceng that their senior officials also have plans to visit the field team in Mubende District to strengthen the support on the ground.
The WHO representative to Uganda noted the WHO team was looking forward to having discussions on the needed Ebola response support from their regional office.
The Ugandan Ministry of Health said Ebola is a deadly disease yet preventable.
So far, 43 Ebola cases have been confirmed with nine registered Ebola related deaths in the country since the current outbreak was confirmed in Mubende in September 20, 2022.
