By Paul Ojambo · Country Director, MAAP Foundation Uganda
THE GROUND REALITY
Uganda is in a dual health emergency
As I write this from Kampala, Uganda has confirmed 15 cases of Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus, with at least one death recorded. The outbreak, first confirmed on May 15, 2026 in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri Province, has crossed borders carried by travel and trade — the same corridors our own communities use.
On May 17, the World Health Organization declared this a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) — only the sixth such declaration in WHO’s history. The alarm is not merely symbolic. It is a global signal that resources, attention, and urgency must pivot here, to us, to now.
“At MAAPF, we have always believed that the most dangerous disease is poverty. Ebola has now made that belief a matter of life and death.”
— Paul Ojambo, Country Director, MAAP Foundation Uganda
OUR MANDATE MEETS THE MOMENT
Why MAAPF’s model matters more than ever
Long before Ebola arrived at Uganda’s doorstep, MAAP Foundation was already fighting for the women and children most likely to be left behind by the health system. Our core work is straightforward but life-changing: we identify mothers and babies who fall ill — most often from malaria — and who cannot pay their medical bills. We then sponsor their treatment, while simultaneously equipping health centres with Income-Generating Activities (IGAs) so those facilities can sustain free or subsidised care independently over time.
This is not charity in the traditional sense. It is a sustainability model. We do not just pay a bill — we build the economic foundation for a health centre to never have to turn a sick mother away again.
Now, with Ebola overlapping our malaria work, the stakes have multiplied. A mother who delays seeking care for a fever — because she cannot afford it — may not be isolated, tested, or treated in time. In an Ebola outbreak, that delay does not only cost one life. It endangers the nurse, the family, the village.
MAAPF RESPONSE — EBOLA + MALARIA CONVERGENCE
What we are doing right now
Health Centre IGA Scale-Up: Accelerating IGA projects at partner health centres in high-risk districts so facilities can absorb Ebola screening, triage kits, and PPE costs — without charging patients.
Maternal Protection Protocol: Pregnant women and newborns are most vulnerable in any haemorrhagic fever outbreak. MAAPF is working with midwives and community health workers to identify at-risk women early and refer them without financial barriers.
Community Sensitisation: Training community champions in our network to distinguish Ebola symptoms from malaria — both present with fever — and to encourage early facility visits without fear of cost.
Healthcare Worker Support: Stigma toward health workers treating Ebola patients is real. MAAPF is advocating with partner facilities to provide hazard support and recognition for frontline staff.
Geographic Focus: Prioritising districts with confirmed or suspected cases and those along the DRC border corridor, while maintaining existing malaria programmes in Kampala and Central Region.
THE HARDER TRUTH
Poverty is the virus that enables all viruses
Ituri Province in DRC — the epicentre of this outbreak — is one of the most under-resourced health regions on the continent. Experts note that a critical four-week gap elapsed between when the index case first fell ill and when the outbreak was laboratory-confirmed. Why? Because in communities without accessible, affordable care, people wait. They treat at home.
They hope the fever passes.
This is not ignorance. This is poverty making the decision for them. MAAPF was founded to break exactly this cycle. When a health centre has a functioning IGA — a poultry farm, a maize mill, a tailoring workshop — it generates income that subsidises its sickest patients. When a mother knows she will not be turned away for lack of money, she comes early. Early presentation changes everything: for malaria, for childbirth complications, and now, for Ebola.
NOTE: Co-presenting symptoms
Malaria and early Ebola share similar symptoms — fever, fatigue, and body aches. Our health centre partners have been briefed to apply heightened screening protocols for any febrile patient in border-adjacent districts. The MAAPF treatment sponsorship fund now covers initial screening costs for ambiguous fever cases.
A CALL TO DONORS & PARTNERS
This moment requires more from all of us
MAAP Foundation operates on the belief that no mother should die of a preventable illness because she could not pay. The Ebola outbreak has not changed our mission — it has amplified its urgency. We are asking partners, donors, and friends of MAAPF to consider three things:
- Fund an IGA at a health centre in a high-risk district — a single project can sustain free care for dozens of patients monthly, indefinitely.
- Share our work — awareness translates to resources, and resources translate to lives in communities that rarely make international headlines.
- Partner with us — if your organisation works in outbreak response, maternal health, or community resilience, let us build together. Our network is on the ground today.
