WEST NILE MEDIA PRACTITIONERS TRAINED ON ACCURATE EPIDEMIC REPORTING TO COMBAT EBOLA OUTBREAK

Media personalities, communication officers and health officials during the engagement at Hunters Nest Hotel in Arua City. (All Photos by Onzoma Albert)

By Onzoma Albert

Arua City

The Ministry of Health, in partnership with CARE International Uganda, organized a targeted capacity-building workshop at Hunters Nest Hotel in Arua City.

The training focused on enhancing the skills of local government communication officers and journalists from West Nile districts—including Arua, Maracha, Koboko, Zombo, and Nebbi—on Ebola preparedness and risk communication.

Participants were selected from high-risk border areas bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the epicenter of the Ebola virus.

The main goal was to equip media practitioners and communication personnel with tools for accurate epidemic reporting, fact-checking frameworks, and strategies to dispel myths, rumors, and panic within communities.

Dr. Pontius Apangu, the Principal Health Officer of Arua City, praised CARE International for organizing this media engagement, highlighting the vital role media play in controlling disease outbreaks and considering them valued partners in health communication.

“The media can change behavior, curb early information faster than any means and therefore there is a need to bring them on board so as to be agents of change in our communities by bring the right information to our community members” he said.

Participants being taken through with tools for accurate epidemic reporting, fact-checking frameworks, and strategies to dispel myths, rumors, and panic within communities.

Bernard Amaga, an Arua City health educator, emphasized the importance of the media in shaping community perceptions about disease outbreaks by providing accurate information from credible sources.

“We should continue to talk to people by giving them the right information because there are so many people who don’t have information about Ebola that’s the reason why we have called all of you here, let us continue to our communities at different times for us to be able to reach bigger population” he said.

Reinforcing this, Polly Ongom, the Assistant Resident City Commissioner for Ayivu Division in Arua, urged media practitioners in West Nile to report verified and balanced information about Ebola to the public.

“Let’s try our best to give the public we serve balanced and verified information by consulting necessary people before coming up with the truth, as of now we are heavily relying on you in terms of sensitizing the community and changing the mindset of our people especially the border communities” he said.

Maintaining high community vigilance and accurate messaging remains crucial in West Nile, given its porous borders and active cross-border movement linked to neighboring DRC areas.

Regional preparedness continues to be vital despite Uganda’s recent declaration of Ebola-free status, thanks to a 42-day mandatory countdown after discharging the last treated patient on July 16.

Uganda successfully contained the cases within Kampala with no community spread. However, the DRC is currently experiencing its largest and fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history, driven by the rare Bundibugyo virus strain, which began in Ituri province on May 15, 2026, and has rapidly spread across multiple northeastern provinces with cross-border spillovers.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared this a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The outbreak has resulted in over 1,000 cases in the DRC within just 40 days—significantly outpacing previous outbreaks.

Active hotspots include Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo provinces. Beyond Africa, cases have been identified in Germany and France, involving evacuated or returning humanitarian workers.

Despite Uganda’s Ebola-free declaration, ongoing vigilance in border regions and regional cooperation remain essential, particularly with continued active outbreaks in DRC.

The collaborative efforts in media training highlight the importance of timely, accurate, and credible communication in managing Ebola risks and safeguarding public health in the region.