We know many of you have seen news headlines about an Ebola outbreak in the region and may be wondering about our safety here in Kampala. We want to give you a clear picture of what’s happening and why we remain at peace about our situation.
What is happening?
On May 15, the governments of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo jointly declared an outbreak of Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo strand of the virus. The outbreak’s epicenter is in Ituri province in northeastern DRC with the vast majority of cases — close to 1000 suspected — occurring in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces in DRC.
Uganda, including Kampala, has seen a small number of cases, all linked to travel from DRC. The Ugandan government and health authorities have been actively conducting contact tracing to monitor and contain any spread. The border between Uganda and DRC was closed on Wednesday to prevent any more transmission between the 2 countries.
It’s important thing to understand that Ebola spreads person to person only through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of someone who is actively sick or has died from the disease, or contact with surfaces contaminated with those fluids. There is no evidence that it spreads through the air. Critically, a person is only contagious once they begin showing symptoms. The people at highest risk are healthcare workers and family members providing close, hands-on care to a visibly ill patient without proper protective equipment.
What does this mean for us?
For the most part, our life is continuing as normal for now. We’re exercising a bit of caution and avoiding crowded areas as much as possible. Mass gatherings such as concerts and other events have been cancelled, but church and other similar gatherings are continuing as normal (with added hand sanitizer). The risk for us, and most of Uganda, remains quite low.
How can you pray for us and the region?
While our personal risk is low, this outbreak is causing real suffering. There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which makes response efforts more challenging. Please pray for the communities in eastern DRC most affected, for the health workers on the front lines, and for the Ugandan government’s efforts to prevent further spread. Pray also for calm and wisdom — both for our team and for the Ugandan public.
We are grateful for your concern and your prayers. We will continue to update you if there are any major developments. As always, we are in God’s hands, and we remain committed to the work He has called us to here in Uganda.
This was just a quick update to let you know we’re doing ok. We’ll be sending out another update next week with some updates about our work – keep an eye out for that!
We are so grateful for each of you who partner with us financially — your generosity is what makes this work possible. If you’d like to join us in supporting EMI’s mission here in Uganda, we’d love to have you on the team!