Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) assessment he has made of the risks of the Ebola outbreak identified in Mubende, Uganda on 20 September 2022, (b) support the UK is offering to assist Uganda in containing the outbreak and (c) discussions he has had with the UK Health Security Agency about the risks to the UK.

On 20 September, the Ugandan Ministry of Health confirmed an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Mubende District, central Uganda. As of 2 October, there were 41 confirmed cases and 9 confirmed deaths across five Districts. The Government of Uganda is mounting a response. The British High Commission in Kampala is monitoring the outbreak closely; two officials visited Mubende on 29 September to assess the situation. It is also in regular contact with the Government of Uganda and international partners. FCDO Travel Advice is being updated regularly to reflect the latest situation.

The UK contributed almost £10 million to support EVD preparedness in Uganda between 2018 and 2020, in response to a major outbreak in neighbouring regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This has supported the Government of Uganda's current capability in responding to the current Ebola outbreak. The UK is discussing with the Government of Uganda and World Health Organisation the deployment of technical experts to support the response, including through the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to monitor and assess the risk of this outbreak to the UK public. UKHSA has established the Returning Workers Scheme as part of arrangements to protect and monitor the health of those who travel from the UK to Ebola affected areas for their work.