Ebola Outbreak Puts KDP's Resilience to the Test

The recent Ebola outbreak in Uganda did not spare Kabubbu Development Project (KDP). What began as a national public health emergency quickly became one of the most challenging periods in our organisation's history, testing the resilience of our health workers, our systems, and the partnerships that sustain our work.

On May 30, 2026, the Ministry of Health informed us that a patient who had previously sought treatment at Kabubbu Health Centre IV had tested positive for Ebola Virus Disease. Soon after, seven of our health workers were identified as contacts and transferred to a government isolation facility. Overnight, our health facility was forced to respond to an unprecedented public health emergency with significantly reduced staff and limited resources.

As fear spread through the community, our remaining health workers worked tirelessly to ensure that essential healthcare services continued. However, responding effectively required resources we did not have, including personal protective equipment, temporary health workers, and infection prevention supplies.

Hope arrived through the timely support of Quicken Trust, Risk Pool Alliance (RPA), and the Gould Family Foundation. Their emergency funding enabled KDP to recruit temporary health workers, procure protective equipment, strengthen infection prevention measures, distribute handwashing facilities, and conduct community Ebola awareness campaigns in partnership with the Wakiso District Health Office.

Although Uganda has made significant progress in controlling the outbreak, KDP remains committed to strengthening community preparedness. This experience reaffirmed an important lesson: resilient health systems are built through strong partnerships, preparedness, and communities that stand together in times of crisis.