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Urge Inside Health Desk | East Africa. Urge- DevWire

EAC Health Ministers Establish Regional Technical Task Force for Coordinated Ebola Response

ARUSHA — June 2026

The East African Community Sectoral Council of Ministers of Health convened in Arusha and agreed on a unified regional strategy for responding to the Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease outbreak affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The meeting established a Regional Technical Task Force to monitor outbreaks and harmonise preparedness measures across EAC partner states. The strategy includes standardised surveillance and preventive measures at airports, seaports, and land borders.

Tanzania's Prime Minister Dr. Mwigulu Nchemba assured the National Assembly that Tanzania remains free from Ebola virus disease, while confirming that authorities are on high alert given the active outbreaks in neighbouring DRC and Uganda. The government cited the scale of cross-border movement linked to trade, tourism, and social interaction as requiring constant vigilance. Ten mobile laboratories are operational across the region, including in Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, and DRC, funded by the German government through KfW Development Bank with technical support from the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine. As of 1 June 2026, DRC had reported 121 confirmed cases and 1,077 suspected cases, with 17 confirmed deaths and 246 suspected deaths. Uganda had recorded 11 confirmed cases and one death, with 638 contacts under monitoring at that date. The EAC coordination measures are designed both to address the immediate Bundibugyo threat and to strengthen preparedness for future outbreaks.

Source: The Citizen (Tanzania), reporting on Prime Minister Nchemba's National Assembly statement and EAC Secretariat, June 2026; WHO Disease Outbreak News.