KAMPALA — The government of Japan has injected 1.8 billion Ugandan shillings, about $500,000, into Uganda’s Ebola response to bolster containment measures and halt the spread of the deadly virus.
The emergency funding will be channeled through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to support critical healthcare initiatives on the ground.
According to situational reports, Uganda had recorded 20 confirmed Ebola cases, two deaths and 14 patient discharges as of June 21.
The financial boost is part of a larger 13.1 billion shilling, or $3.5 million, Japanese emergency grant package targeting the outbreak in the region.
The neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has faced a heavier toll, will receive the remaining 11.3 billion shillings, about $3 million. The DRC funds will support health interventions, United Nations Children’s Fund water and sanitation programs, and World Food Programme logistics. The DRC had registered 956 confirmed cases and 247 deaths as of June 19.
Japanese officials said the funding is intended to stop the transmission of the virus within the affected countries and prevent it from spilling across borders into neighboring nations.
