Ebola outbreak in Uganda

            Recently, Uganda has experienced an Ebola virus outbreak in its capital, causing alarm in the international community due to the risk of a worldwide epidemic. Therefore, it is important to maintain control of any emerging ebola outbreak and provide sufficient international support to the area where the outbreak occurred. One of the international organizations that provides support and treats Ebola is the World Health Organization (WHO). The World Health Organization successfully prevented the spread of the 2025 Ebola outbreak in Uganda, despite facing huge funding cuts.

(Source of the picture: https://www.britannica.com/place/Uganda)

            Uganda is a landlocked country in Eastern Africa that has a history of Ebola outbreak.

However, a new Ebola outbreak occurred on January 30th, 2025, in the capital of Uganda, Kampala. Ebola is a severe disease that could lead to a 90% fatality rate in affected people, and the first Ebola case was confirmed by the death of a male nurse in the hospital, signifying the start of the outbreak. Even though Ebola is not easily transmitted to other people, if the disease is not properly preserved and sustained, it could spread to other countries and cause a worldwide epidemic. Some countries may not possess a lot of economic potential to fight the Ebola Virus. For this reason, in order to minimize the consequences of an Ebola outbreak and prevent the spread of the disease to other countries, international organizations like the World Health

Organization could step in with international support to help in the affected area.

            Recent Ebola Virus-related health emergencies in Uganda have proved the efficacy and necessity of the World Health Organization. In Uganda, the outbreak began in January 2025, and the World Health Organization stepped in simultaneously to help prevent the spread and treat people who had already caught the Ebola virus. The World Health Organization was able to organize 129 professional personnel from Uganda and other countries to help control the outbreak. It also provided logistics for affected areas and educated people of Uganda on how to fight against Ebola and how to minimize the risk of disease. This international organization also assured the public safety and controlled the civil anxiety on the new issue in the country (World Health Organization. Ebola Disease). However, this organization faced a cooperation barrier while resolving the outbreak. With United States President Trump assuming office on January

20, the USAID encountered the freeze of all funding programs. USAID was one of the biggest World Health Organization voluntary contributors, and the halt in funding greatly affected the ability of the WHO to fund its operations. Since the WHO had not received sufficient contributions, the world community had doubts regarding the amount of spent money in Uganda and whether the funding was appropriate for the Ebola outbreak. That may cause future disputes regarding funding of the programs and degradation of international cooperation by closing of the independent organizations that provide necessary health support in addition to WHO due to the lack of funding (GV Wire Staff). Therefore, support of USAID was crucial for the proper work of WHO and the stop in funding had dramatic effects on the functionality of the International Organization. However, the key issue in the prevention of Ebola cases is the containment of the disease to one country. If the virus is spread across national borders, other countries may lack the infrastructure to deal with Ebola if they had never encountered it before and face significant consequences. Nonetheless, with the help of the World Health Organization, the end of the Ebola outbreak was proclaimed on April 26, 2025, after a 42-day countdown with no new cases of

Ebola disease, which signifies the effectiveness of this international organization.

            The World Health Organization was created in 1948 as a part of the Social and Economic Council of the United Nations. The most important document of the WHO is its Constitution, which describes membership conditions, leadership, functions, and the organization. The Constitution was adopted in 1948, signifying the creation of the WHO. According to the constitution, every state could become a member of the international organization by approving or signing the Constitution of the WHO with accordance to the state procedures. The governance of the WHO consists of three bodies: the World Health Assembly (WHA), the Executive Board, and the Secretariat. The World Health Assembly is in charge of making supreme decisions. The WHA also responsible, but not limited to establishing the policies of the World Health

Organization, creating necessary committees, and allocating funds for the proper function of the

WHO. The WHO Assembly contains 194 state-members, each with equal vote and a representative that has high experience in a health-related field. The Executive Board consists of 34 members that are elected from the World Health Assembly. The number of seats is split between the regions to ensure geographic representation, for example, for Europe there are 9 allocated seats in the Executive Board. The functions of the Executive Board are to serve as a fast decision-maker, be an adviser to the World Health Assembly, and execute other responsibilities that were assigned to it by the WHA. While the Secretariat is a body of the WHO that carries out day-to-day tasks, the powers and responsibilities of the Secretariat branch are bigger than they seemed to be due to its leadership position, the Director-General. The DirectorGeneral has responsibilities to supervise the staff of the World Health Organization globally, manage operations performed by WHO, and enforce decisions made by the WHA. The DirectorGeneral is appointed by the Health Assembly, but nominated by the Executive Board. This role functions as an official office for all three governance branches and serves as a leadership position for the World Health Organization (World Health Organization, Constitution).

            The objective and functions of the World Health Organization are determined by its Constitution. The target of the WHO is to provide the highest possible level of health for all people. Following the end of World War II with its horrible events, diseases, and epidemics, it seemed necessary to create an Organization that would oversee world health concerns and act if necessary. In order to achieve their goal, the World Health Agency helps affected areas with epidemics and other diseases. But it also promotes cooperation with and across different organizations, assists states on how to improve their health departments, conducts research in medicine and related fields, educates people, and establishes standards in health (World Health

Organization, Constitution).

            The funding of the World Health Organization, which allows it to do what is prescribed, comes from two sources: assessed and voluntary contributions. Assessed contributions are membership dues from the member states. The proper amount of contribution for each country is based on its Gross Domestic Product, but it only covers 20% of the WHO budget. The rest, 80%, of the budget is covered by the voluntary contributions that could come from the state members or other organizations (World Health Organization. How WHO Is Funded). If the state does not contribute assessed funds to WHO, the International Organization does not have a procedure on how to enforce the dues. However, WHO could revoke the ability to vote for a country that stopped paying contriutions, that could push the member state to pay and get the right to vote back (World Health Organization, Constitution). But, the state might not comply anyway and do not pay any dues at all. In response, WHO could create an international pressure on noncompliant states, but it cannot exclude the country from the organization.

            Yet, the World Health Organization has facets of its practices and policies it could improve upon. Namely, it could eliminate the risk of possible funding shortages by obliging member states to allocate more funds rather than relying on voluntary contributions. Ideally, the World Health Assembly would propose to increase member assessed contributions during times of crisis, with the goal of eliminating the risk of funding shortages and promoting international cooperation. By encouraging state contributions, the WHO could mobilize emergency funds efficiently and with little resistance. This may be especially important in cases of imminent risk in the future, like the global pandemic of COVID-19 in 2020. If a crisis like this were to happen again, any sort of halt of funds could be catastrophic.

            In conclusion, the World Health Organization provided all necessary support in Uganda to treat the Ebola Virus outbreak, and it was successful in containing the disease and minimizing the consequences of the outbreak. It was able to deploy national and international personnel in

Uganda to help people in the affected area, educate them, and preserve public peace. The World Health Organization was created along with the United Nations and serves as one of the most important international organizations, helping hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Even though the World Health Organization is experiencing a recent funding shortage, it is still trying to improve itself and reach out to more people who need help every year. Nonetheless, International Organizations are increasingly important in the modern world because they promote international cooperation and improve quality of life for many.

Tsimafei Yankovich

Bibliography

            GV Wire Staff. “Ebola Claims Second Life in Uganda, Raising Concerns Over Outbreak Control.” GV Wire, 1 Mar. 2025, https://gvwire.com/2025/03/01/ebola-claims-second-life-inuganda-raising-concerns-over-outbreak-control/         

 World Health Organization. “About WHO.” World Health Organization, 2025, https:// www.who.int/about

            World Health Organization. Constitution of the World Health Organization, 7 April 1948, apps.who.int/gb/bd/PDF/bd47/EN/constitution-en.pdf?ua=1

            World Health Organization. “Ebola Disease.” World Health Organization, 24 Apr. 2025, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ebola-disease  

            World Health Organization. How WHO Is Funded. 2025, https://www.who.int/about/ funding