Despite discharging its final Ebola patient and launching its official 42-day countdown to be declared virus-free, Uganda remains hit with severe foreign travel restrictions, a situation local analysts say is crippling the nation’s trade and tourism.
Journalist and team leader at Grassroots Journalism Kenya, Dennis Beru, highlighted the glaring double standard facing the country, which successfully brought its outbreak under control with a low 10%case fatality rate.
While the World Health Organisation (WHO) explicitly advises against travel or trade restrictions, 15 countries, led by the United States (US), continue to enforce strict partial or full travel advisories, placing Uganda on “Do Not Travel” lists alongside conflict zones like Afghanistan, Somalia, and Russia.
“Uganda just discharged the last person to have had this virus,” Beru stated. “Yet 15 countries continue to maintain their restrictions. The Ugandan government says this has really crippled tourism, trade, and business, despite the country relatively having successfully responded to the outbreak.”
The economic fallout comes as neighboring Kenya draws public outrage for hosting foreign aid workers at a US-built quarantine facility in Laikipia. Beru notes that while Kenya takes on diplomatic and health risks to accommodate Washington’s travel rules, Uganda is left bearing the heavy economic penalties of those same foreign policies.
With the WHO confirming no new cases in Uganda since late June, Kampala is now lobbying international partners to lift the advisories, arguing that blanket travel bans punish African nations that demonstrate swift and effective epidemic control.
–ChannelAfrica–
