Finance Minister Matia Kasaija has revealed that the USD 2.3 billion Memorandum of Understanding between Uganda and the United States of America on bilateral health cooperation will support and improve a number of health interventions in the country over the next five years.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Min Kasaija noted that Government acknowledges the critical importance of preventing the spread of emerging and existing infectious disease threats globally.
“In this regard, the Government of Uganda notes the United States Government’s commitment to support Uganda with a budget allocation of $1.7 billion for the period 2026–2030. The Government of Uganda also recognizes and commits to gradually increasing its own budgetary contribution to more than $500 million over the same period, as the U.S. budget support decreases” he said.
Min Kasaija said the collaboration will not only yield disease-specific outcomes but also significant improvements in national systems, institutions, and workforce capacity. This is highly commendable” he said.
America’s Ambassador to Uganda, William Popp said the agreement represents a significant commitment by the United States and Uganda to co-invest in their shared global health priorities. “Today, we are building on prior successes and making a significant shift toward promoting self-reliance in the health sector through strong community health systems, clear performance metrics, and a foundational commitment to data systems and global health security that will prevent and stop outbreaks from threatening Uganda, the United States and the world” he said.
The MOU will a mong other things see the procurement of most commodities, from the U.S. Government to the Government of Uganda, mapping out of cadres currently funded by the US Government that can be employed by government of Uganda and placed on governments payroll and the U.S. government invest significantly in data and disease surveillance systems to enhance Government of Uganda’s data ecosystem.
Furthermore, the MOU will see Uganda support faith-based providers through a variety of mechanisms with support from the U.S Government and Uganda enhance its domestic health expenditures by more than $500 million over the next five-year period.
