Kisoro -  Leaders in southwestern Uganda hailed the Japanese Government for financing interventions to prevent Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) through the UN Migration Agency (IOM) at points of entries (PoEs). Various leaders in Kisoro district say they were worried when EVD broke out in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in August 2018, but are now confident it can be kept out of Uganda.

They were recently meeting officials from IOM Uganda and the Embassy of Japan, who were on a joint field monitoring visit to the region. With funding from the Government of Japan, IOM is implementing the project “Comprehensive Border Management for a Strengthened Response to Emergency Mass Migration and Identification of Individual Security Threats in Uganda”. One of the project components involves screening travellers at PoEs as a control measure against EVD.

During the mission, officials visited Bunagana and Cyanika PoEs, where thousands of people regularly cross from and to DRC on daily basis, which exposes Uganda to a high risk of spread of EVD within the national border. The delegation observed the process of how all the individuals crossing the international border follows the IPC measures, are then checked by the screeners, and how the flow of travellers is monitored and registered by IOM field team.

Meeting the team, the Kisoro District Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Sulaiman Kasozi, thanked the Government of Japan for funding the project that “played a crucial role and enabled Uganda to keep Ebola out of the country”.

The Deputy Resident District Commissioner and the chairperson of District EVD Response Task Force, Moses Niwagaba said that previously, “the district was about to scale down its screening points at the border due to the limited resources; but since IOM (funded by Japan Government) came to support us with adequate resources, we are well fortified now”.

The Assistant District Health Officer and District Surveillance Focal Person, Nick Muneza, said that because the Ebola virus cannot be easily be wiped out, the best defence was to always be on high alert. He said the IOM project had also helped to deepen cross-border contacts between Ugandan and Congolese officials. “These days we can talk to them and they can talk to us, for example, to alert the other side in case there is a missing person who is a suspected case [of Ebola],” Mr Muneza said.

Leading the team, Japanese Embassy Researcher/Advisor Kentaro Takada appreciated the efforts of the district and the Government of Uganda, stating: “We believe that peace and security is a vital component for Uganda’s development. We appreciate Kisoro’s spearheading of efforts to combat Ebola and other cross-border [challenges] to development.”

After visiting the two border points, Mr Takada said: “It was also encouraging for us to witness that all the stakeholders continued their tireless efforts on the ground to prevent the EVD and sensitize community members. Without their efforts, it is not possible to achieve both people’s freedom of movement and Ebola prevention at the same time.”

For further information please contact the IOM Uganda Programme Coordinator Erika De Bona. Email: edebona@iom.int  Tel +256 312 263 210.

Media enquiries can be directed to IOM Uganda Public Information Officer, Richard M Kavuma. Email: ugandapiu@iom.int Tel +256 312 263 210.