AFSA Calls on State Department to Grant Authorized Departure at Ebola-Affected Posts

For Immediate Release
May 27, 2026
Press Contact: Communications & Outreach Director Nikki Gamer | gamer@afsa.org

Washington, D.C. – The American Foreign Service Association calls on the Department of State to grant authorized departure for Foreign Service employees and their families at posts affected by the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan.

The New York Times reported that the Trump administration plans to send Americans exposed to Ebola to a facility in Kenya rather than bring them home, which is a stark departure from how every previous administration has handled Ebola exposure. Americans exposed during prior outbreaks were repatriated and monitored at specialized U.S. treatment facilities. Those facilities still exist, and the government has the ability to transport people safely and without endangering other travelers.

Foreign Service employees are there because the U.S. government sent them. They are entitled to the same standard of care that has always applied, including the right to come home.

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) is the professional association and labor union of the men and women of the United States Foreign Service.