Dublin - Ireland announced emergency aid of 75 000 punts (about R608 000) on Monday to assist the Ugandan authorities in containing an Ebola outbreak.
The announcement coincided with a visit to Ireland of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who is the first Ugandan head of state to visit the country.
A total of 111 cases of the viral disease have been reported so far with 41 deaths. The disease is fatal for between 50 and 90 percent of those infected.
Irish junior Foreign Affairs Minister Liz O'Donnell said she hoped their contribution would help the World Health Organisation to contain the disease.
"This is the sole viable response as there is no specific treatment or vaccine for it. The consequences of an uncontained outbreak would be horrendous."
Museveni was welcomed by President Mary McAleese at her official residence, Aras an Uachtarain, in Dublin, at the start of his visit.
She will host a state dinner in Dublin Castle for him. He also met Prime Minister Bertie Ahern at Government Buildings.
Accompanying him is First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eriya Kategaya, who held talks with his Irish counterpart Brian Cowen.
Kategaya briefed him on a range of Africa issues in advance of Ireland taking a rotating seat on the United Nations Security Council in January.
In a statement the ministers said that in regard to the conflict in the African Great lakes region, and particularly the current situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the immediate implementation of the Lusaka Agreement was the best framework for restoring stability.
Uganda has been a priority aid country for Ireland since 1994. More than 9-million punts has been disbursed so far this year and the talks considered how the aid programme could be expanded.
On Tuesday, the Ugandan delegation will meet Ireland's Industrial Development Authority, which has had huge success in recent years in attracting foreign investment.
On Wednesday, they will travel to the south of the country where they will visit a university, a state research farm and a number of industries. - Sapa-AFP