Protect Uganda-DRC Border Communities from Ebola

Dear Donor,

Transport workers can play an important role in community health preparedness because they connect villages, markets, schools and border communities every day.

The current DRC Ebola outbreak has reached 7,475 confirmed cases and 3,605 deaths, while the disease continues to affect multiple provinces and health zones.

Development Alert continues engaging transport communities as part of our broader risk-communication strategy.

Boda boda riders and other transport workers can help distribute accurate health information to people they interact with during their daily activities.

Our engagement emphasizes responsible health messaging, early reporting and appropriate referral rather than asking transport workers to diagnose or handle suspected Ebola cases.

We encourage riders to direct people with serious health concerns toward appropriate health services and avoid spreading unverified information.

Transport stages are also useful locations for health education because many people pass through them.

Our awareness approach can include posters, community discussions, hygiene promotion and direct communication through local leaders and volunteers.

We also emphasize stigma reduction. People should not be judged simply because they have traveled from an affected area or have been in contact with someone who is being monitored.

WHO and ECDC continue emphasizing surveillance, cross-border preparedness and monitoring of population movement as important components of outbreak control.

By engaging transport communities responsibly, we strengthen one of the communication networks that connects rural households to the wider health system.