Uganda News

One day, a couple is at home discussing dinner plans, sharing stories about work, and dreaming about the future.  In an instant, everything changes. One partner is gone, taken by a dreaded disease that sends everyone into a panic: Ebola.

When Dr Ezra Mupakasa first developed a fever and headache on January 25, 2025, he suspected it might be something common - fatigue, perhaps, or an ordinary viral infection. As a health worker at Saidina Abubakar Islamic Hospital in Uganda, he was used to being cautious and seeing patients come and go with all sorts of symptoms. 

This time, recalls Dr Mupakasa, the signs pointed to something more serious. A few days later, the confirmation came: a positive PCR test. Dr Mupakasa had attended to the index case.

In a busy dental clinic, a dentist carefully prepares a dental amalgam, a common material used for fillings. This amalgam, a mixture of metals including mercury, has been widely used in dental practices for decades due to its durability and cost-effectiveness.

The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, inaugurated the second National Tobacco Control Committee (NTCC) during a high-level event held in Kampala. This milestone marks a renewed national commitment to enforcing the Tobacco Control Act and protecting citizens, especially the youth and vulnerable, from the harmful effects of tobacco.

Kampala. Uganda has officially declared the end of the Ebola disease outbreak, which was confirmed on 30 January 2025 by Uganda’s Ministry of Health. The outbreak infected 14 people, two of whom were probable (not confirmed by laboratory tests) and caused four deaths (including two probable). 

Today, as Uganda commemorates World Malaria Day in Gulu District, we are reminded of both a solemn truth and a powerful opportunity: malaria remains one of the deadliest diseases in Uganda, but it is also a disease we have the power to end if we choose to reinvest, reimagine, and reignite our collective efforts.

For years, childbirth for many women in Uganda meant facing it alone, in dim, overcrowded rooms, with no privacy, no comfort, and no one to hold their hand. Husbands waited outside. Health workers were stretched thin. Fear often overshadowed what should have been a joyful moment. Today, that story is changing. Maternity wards are brighter and better equipped. Curtains are only drawn for privacy. And for the first time, many mothers have someone beside them during labour, often their partner. 

One of the cornerstones of a successful response system to a disease outbreak such as the Sudan virus disease (SVD) is the effective coordination of partners. For this reason, this role is usually the preserve of the Ministry of Health (MoH), closely supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) as co-chair.

Disease outbreaks in Uganda are not a new phenomenon, with diseases of epidemic potential reported almost every year.  From Ebola, Marburg, yellow fever, measles and cholera, to mention a few, the country has seen them all and, in the process, built a resilient health system capable of detecting and containing them in record time.