The Public Health Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Roger Kamba, expressed his concerns on Friday regarding travel restrictions tied to the Ebola outbreak, calling them “discriminatory” and lacking justification from a scientific or medical standpoint.
The United States enacted travel restrictions in May, which bar travelers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan from entering the country without a U.S. passport.
Travelers who do hold U.S. passports, green cards, or are military personnel arriving from places affected by Ebola are required to go through “enhanced public health screening.” They must enter the U.S. at designated airports equipped to handle testing, which include Washington Dulles, Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, and JFK International in New York.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that this travel ban is expected to remain in place for at least 30 days and might be extended as needed.
Other nations, like Canada and the Bahamas, have also imposed similar restrictions on travelers from areas where Ebola is endemic. Meanwhile, countries like Thailand are accepting travelers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and nearby areas but require them to undergo a lengthy quarantine.
Kamba articulated his and others’ frustration with this travel ban, viewing it as a slight against their capacity to manage the outbreak effectively. Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya, who was at the press conference with Kamba, mentioned that the government is in discussions with the U.S. to show improvements in their initial response, hoping to have the travel ban lifted soon.
The call from the DRC for a reevaluation of the travel ban is endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), which typically opposes such measures.
Mohamed Janabi, the WHO Regional Director, remarked at a recent press briefing that restrictions on travel and the closing of borders, like those instituted by Uganda when the outbreak first began, are counterproductive. He noted these actions disrupt essential supply chains and hinder transparency.
“Ebola isn’t spread through the air. Implementing a total travel ban won’t halt its transmission,” Janabi explained. He emphasized that strict border checks are a far better alternative, rather than travel bans that could drive infected individuals to find “unofficial channels,” bypassing necessary testing altogether.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries maintaining travel bans and border restrictions to rethink these measures, as they complicate the public health response and undermine both trust and transparency, which can ultimately save lives.
