KAMPALA – Uganda has been selected to host a regional pandemic response centre under the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), a major step toward strengthening Africa’s defenses against future health emergencies.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Uganda’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Adonia Ayebare, announced the development via his Twitter (X) handle on Monday, June 1, 2026.
The decision, announced amid an ongoing Ebola outbreak, followed discussions with Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya and underscores Uganda’s rising stature as a continental public health leader.
Ayebare stated that Kaseya agreed to correct errors in Africa CDC’s reporting on Ebola cases in Uganda and confirmed that the regional pandemic response centre would be established in the country.
“Today I had a productive call with Dr. Jean Kaseya, Head of Africa CDC, and he agreed to correct the errors in their reporting on Ebola cases in Uganda. He also informed me that a regional centre on pandemic response will be established in Uganda,” Ayebare’s post read in part.
The new facility will serve as a regional hub for disease surveillance, outbreak coordination, laboratory support, emergency preparedness, research, and rapid deployment of health workers during epidemics.
According to Ambassador Ayebare, the facility aims to help neighboring countries detect outbreaks earlier, share information more swiftly, and coordinate cross-border responses before diseases spiral out of control.
The announcement comes as Uganda battles a fresh outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease, the rare Bundibugyo strain, placing the country’s public health systems under international scrutiny.
The same strain is surging in the DRC’s Ituri province and spreading to North and South Kivu, with over 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths reported as of late May.
With no approved vaccine or specific treatment available, the WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17, as ongoing conflict and cross-border movement continue to fuel the spread.
Over the weekend, the Director General of Health Services at Uganda’s Ministry of Health, Prof. Charles Olaro, confirmed two additional Ebola cases in Kampala, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to nine, including one death.
The ministry confirmed that six of the confirmed cases are Congolese nationals, three are Ugandans, and three health workers have also been infected. By May 30, Uganda had identified and monitored 580 contacts linked to the outbreak.
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