(AMURU) – At least 3,500 Ugandan residents from Elegu Town Council in Amuru district have received cholera vaccines in neighbouring South Sudan, health officials reported on Monday. The initiative is part of a cross-border effort to contain the spread of the highly contagious diarrheal disease.
The vaccination drive was coordinated between Amuru district health authorities and their counterparts at Nimule Hospital in Nimule Town, South Sudan. The effort comes amid concerns over what local leaders described as limited communication from Uganda’s Health Ministry regarding the outbreak and shortages of resources to address it effectively.
Amuru district has been grappling with cholera since July 2, 2025. The outbreak has so far resulted in five deaths, including four at Bibia Health Centre III in Amuru and one at Nimule Hospital.
Patrick Louis Lamot, Cross Border Focal Point Person at Elegu Port Health, said the vaccination programme aims to prevent the cross-border spread of cholera.
“We have held numerous meetings with our counterparts in Nimule. Together, we agreed on joint strategies to tackle emerging public health threats,” Lamot said. “Cholera vaccination was one of the measures. When vaccines arrived in Nimule, we shared information so our communities could benefit.”
Lamot added that authorities are still assessing whether the decline in reported cases between August 2 and 6 is directly linked to the vaccination drive.
Laboratory testing has confirmed 50 cholera cases at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, while more than 200 people tested positive using Rapid Diagnostic Tests.
Milton Okello, in-charge of Bibia Health Centre III, said the number of cholera cases increased following recent floods in Elegu Town Council. Currently, 15 patients are hospitalised with acute diarrheal infections, while 300 people have already been treated and discharged since the outbreak began.
Last month, the Amuru district cholera taskforce presented a draft response budget of 913.2 million Ugandan shillings (approximately $198,500) to support case management, surveillance, public awareness campaigns, and welfare of frontline health workers.
While district leaders criticised the Health Ministry for limited public updates, Health Minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng told Parliament on July 31 that supplies had been dispatched to support the cholera response. She added that Ministry teams, together with water officials, had collected water samples from Elegu to test quality and safety.
