UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has earmarked $4 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to aid Uganda’s efforts against Ebola. This funding is part of a larger $60 million allocation to bolster the response in 29 districts, including refugee-hosting areas. The support includes health and logistics assistance to enhance operations in Uganda.
The UN team, led by Stephane Dujarric, is actively backing Uganda’s Ebola response on various fronts. Organizations like the International Organization for Migration and the UN Development Programme are ramping up screening and surveillance at key entry points. The UN Children’s Fund is engaged in community outreach, risk communication, and maintaining essential services to combat the disease.
Moreover, the World Food Programme has distributed over 6,000 meals to patients, isolated contacts, and frontline health workers in Uganda. Simultaneously, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN and its partners have dispatched 16 metric tonnes of medical supplies this week. Health screening facilities have been set up at Kinshasa’s International Airport to bolster surveillance efforts.
In a separate move, the UN emergency relief coordinator, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, has appointed Julien Harneis as the senior Ebola coordinator. This appointment aims to enhance coordination, tackle operational hurdles, and expedite aid delivery to those in urgent need.
Ebola, a rare and often fatal hemorrhagic fever caused by orthoebolaviruses, primarily affects sub-Saharan Africa. The virus spreads through direct contact with infected individuals or animals’ bodily fluids or contaminated surfaces, with an average fatality rate of around 50 percent.
