Uganda

The EBO-PEP platform trial, which has been under development since 2024, will evaluate several medicines as post-exposure prophylaxis for people who have had high-risk contact with filoviruses, the virus family that includes Bundibugyo Ebola.

Japan will channel the support through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

This new allocation builds on earlier support, which includes US$350 million in Ebola response and broader humanitarian assistance across the DRC, South Sudan, and Uganda.

The latest recommendations come as health authorities continue to battle a widening outbreak in eastern DRC, with additional confirmed cases reported in Uganda.

Health authorities estimate that approximately 20,000 babies are born with the condition each year, while nearly 30 percent of the population carries the sickle cell trait.

The leaders also pledged to protect essential services such as education, routine healthcare, cholera control and measles response efforts as countries confront the growing public health threat.

Authorities also dispatched a team of 35 experts from Kinshasa to reinforce surveillance, infection prevention and control, contact tracing, and community engagement efforts in the affected areas.

The launch coincides with the company’s 30th year of operations and reinforces its strategy of building an integrated healthcare system across Uganda.

Health authorities in DRC and Uganda have already activated emergency response mechanisms, including contact tracing, case isolation, infection prevention measures, and enhanced treatment services.