The Minister of Health has maintained restrictions on border markets despite Uganda being declared Ebola-free, citing the rising number of cases in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Minister of Health, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, said that Uganda remained at risk of importing Ebola cases from the DRC, where the outbreak was continuing to spread.
“I can assure you, if we declared the market open today, within a few days, you would have reported cases of Ebola,” he told Parliament siting on Wednesday, 12 August 2026.
The sitting was chaired by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa.
Baryomunsi was responding to concerns raised by Arua City Woman MP, Hon. Mourine Osoru, who called on government to explain why border markets remained closed after Uganda was declared Ebola-free on 28 July 2026.
She said that communities along the border were struggling because cross-border trade had been disrupted and asked the Ministry of Health to clarify when the markets would reopen.
Minister Baryomunsi said Uganda recorded 20 confirmed Ebola cases during the outbreak, 15 of which involving Congolese nationals who had entered the country.
“On the 15th of May, the Ministry of Health announced an outbreak of Ebola disease. And on the 28th of July, I announced the end of that outbreak,” Baryomunsi said.
He said the situation in the DRC remained a major concern.
“In DRC, the opposite is happening. They [DRC] have since registered 4,380 positive cases and over 2,000 deaths. And the infections are on the rise,” he said.
Baryomunsi said Uganda had deployed health workers and established Ebola treatment centres in the DRC to contain the spread before it reached Uganda’s borders, and that government had therefore retained restrictions on markets and other gatherings in the border communities.
He said that a meeting of the National Ebola Task Force, chaired by Vice President Jessica Alupo, would review the restrictions next week.
