Kampala/Uganda: The Uganda Ministry of Health (MOH), with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners deployed the national Emergency Medical Team (nEMT) to the ongoing Sudan Virus Disease (SVD) response. 

On 30 January 2025, MOH declared an outbreak of SVD in the country after a 35-year-old Ugandan male who worked as a nurse in Mulago National Referral Hospital tested positive for the virus following his death on 29 January 2025. Before his diagnosis, he sought treatment at multiple health facilities, including Mulago Referral Hospital in Kampala, Saidina Abubakar Islamic Hospital in Matugga in Wakiso District, and Mbale Regional Referral Hospital in Mbale City.

By 2 February 2025, Uganda had recorded a total of nine confirmed cases. This includes the index case and eight additional confirmed cases from three different districts. This brings the total to nine cases (one mortality and eight recoveries).  

In response, the Ministry of Health swiftly deployed the national Emergency Medical Team to support case management. A total of 44 national Emergency Medical Team members of various cadres were deployed. A team of 26 was deployed to support the operationalization of Mulago National Referral Hospital, while 18 were deployed to Mbale district Ebola treatment unit. This marked the first time that the country has deployed the national EMT for an Ebola response. 

At Mulago hospital, the nEMT members were on ground within two hours of deployment, immediately  setting up the isolation unit and preparing to receive patients. Their support included providing direct clinical care according to national Ebola case management guidelines, strengthening referral systems to evacuate new cases from the community promptly, and building capacity of the local teams through training and mentorship. 

In Mbale, the team was deployed on Monday 3 February 2025 to strengthen the isolation unit set-up and support clinical care. The Mbale team consisted of 18 members including physicians, nurses, a logistician, Infection Prevention and Control officer, plus a safe and dignified burial team. 

“In previous outbreaks, we relied on mobilization of health workers across the country, working alongside surge teams from outside the country. However, this time, we had a fully trained, readily deployable trained team who were on-site within two hours of deployment and fully constituted within 12 hours. As a country, this is a proud moment for us,” said Dr Rony Bahatungire, Ag. Commissioner - Clinical Services and national EMT focal person. 

Beyond clinical care, the nEMT has played a critical role in providing mental health and psycho-social services to health workers, patients and their communities including affected schools. Mentorship and training were extended to existing health workers within the local systems, to ensure sustainable support to survivors’ resettlement.  

Sudan Virus Disease outbreaks have reported a mortality rate between 41% to 70% in previous outbreaks. The last outbreak in the country recorded a mortality rate of 47%. However, the EVD mortality rate during this response has been 11.1%, and this was the index case. The response has recorded a 100% survival rate for all patients admitted to the isolation units. This is due to multiple reasons including the rapid deployment of an experienced EMT that has maintained the high standard of care.

Since their deployment on 30 January 2025, the team has maintained 24-hour coverage, providing optimized clinical care. This included early supportive care across the spectrum from mild cases to provision of critical care. They have managed a total of eight confirmed cases and numerous suspects. To date, no mortality has been reported in either of the isolation units, despite managing some severe and critical cases including children. 

“Public health emergencies can quickly overwhelm the local health systems, necessitating additional support. Fortunately, the national EMTs understand the local context and are readily deployable to support affected communities,” said Dr Kasonde Mwinga, the WHO Representative to Uganda.

Uganda currently has 149 nEMT members, ready to respond to public health emergencies.  The nEMT concept dates to December 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, MOH, with support from WHO, hosted the first regional training for nEMT members to support the COVID-19 response. MOH continued to build the team through additional trainings and drills supported by WHO with funding from partners like the European Union Humanitarian Aid Agency (DG ECHO), the Robert Koch Institute and Malteser International among others. The nEMT has also previously deployed for Mpox and measles outbreaks within the country. 

In July 2024, Uganda’s Ministry of Health approved the nEMT roadmap to guide future emergency response efforts. This aligns with the WHO global EMT initiative, which aims to improve the speed and quality of emergency medical response while strengthening national health systems.

“The work that we do is not only about responding to outbreaks. Preparedness is an important part of our work. The Uganda national EMTs program has shown the importance of preparedness and its impact on response.” Dr Michael Ryan, Deputy Director General and Head - World Health Emergencies, WHO Headquarters, Geneva.