On 3 March 2025, the United Nations (UN) in Uganda launched a USD 11.2 million emergency appeal to support efforts to combat the Sudan Ebolavirus (SVD) outbreak that was detected in the country in January 2025. The appeal is aligned with the government’s three-month response plan on SVD.

“This emergency appeal in support of Uganda’s response to Ebola presents joint actions planned by the UN Country Team in Uganda and eight humanitarian international non-governmental organizations (INGOs). The appeal is for USD 11.2 million, of which USD 4.6 million has been mobilized by UN agencies and international non-government organizations (INGOs) repurposing their available resources. I am hopeful that we will be able to close the gap, with support from partners,” said Mr Leonard Zulu, the UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda.

According to Mr Zulu, the United Nations system is committed to supporting the government of Uganda in controlling and stopping the outbreak and commends the swift and transparent way the outbreak has been handled under the proactive leadership of the Ministry of Health.

WHO internally classified the SVD outbreak as a Grade 2 Emergency and released US$ 2.5 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) to immediately scale up its response. WHO personnel, both at national and sub-national level, have been mobilized to support the SVD response while at the same time ensure responding to the Grade 3 mpox outbreak. Support was provided to develop, launch, and disseminate the National Response Plan, and necessary advocacy, resource mobilization and partner coordination efforts to support its implementation have been initiated.

A WHO team was deployed to Mbale, Kampala, and Wakiso districts to provide the necessary technical assistance to teams on the ground. In addition to deploying surge teams across coordination, surveillance, laboratory, logistics, infection prevention and control (IPC), risk communication and community engagement (RCCE), and case management pillars. The government efforts on the randomized trial vaccines are being supported. The "TOKEMEZA SVD" vaccine trial was launched on 3 February 2025.

WHO is also supporting the establishment of isolation facilities at Mulago National Referral Hospital (84-bed isolation unit) and quarantine sites in Mbale and Kampala. This is in addition to providing operational and technical support for the SVD response in the affected districts, countering misinformation and enhancing community engagement.

In coordination with national authorities, the UN has activated a joint response involving WHO, UNICEF, WFP, and other agencies. Joint UN efforts are focused on disease surveillance, case management, infection prevention, and risk communication in seven very high-risk districts, with potential for expansion to other districts based on needs and resources. The goal is to rapidly contain the outbreak and address its impact on the health and social-economic life of the affected people.

WHO as the lead UN agency on health is coordinating response partners on behalf of the Ministry of Health. WHO also leads the surveillance, laboratory, strategic information, research, and innovation (SIRI), infection prevention and control (IPC) and continuity of essential health and social services (CEHSS) response pillars.

The UN acknowledges Uganda’s strong national capacity and emphasizes the importance of public vigilance, calm, and adherence to health guidelines to contain the outbreak. The UN urges the public to support accurate information-sharing while maintaining daily activities with necessary precautions.