The United States government and the government of Uganda have signed a five-year, $2.3 billion bilateral health cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Ending weeks of skepticism, questions, and fear among sections of the public, the U.S. Mission in Uganda revealed on Wednesday that the deal is aimed at saving lives and strengthening Uganda’s health system.
“The MOU advances the U.S–Uganda bilateral relationship and supports Uganda to develop a resilient health system that prevents the spread of emerging and existing infectious diseases globally. Under the MOU, the United States plans to support priority health programs, including HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, maternal and child health, polio eradication, global health security, human resources, disease surveillance, and emergency preparedness,” the statement reads in part.
Under the deal, the United States plans to provide up to $1.7 billion in support, while the Government of Uganda pledges to increase domestic health expenditures by more than $500 million to gradually assume greater financial responsibility over the course of the framework. Priority areas under the agreement include surveillance and outbreak response, reducing the burden of HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria, human resources for health, integrated health data systems, and enhancing global health security and laboratory systems.
Regarding frontline health workers, the agreement outlines that health workers currently funded by the U.S. Government will be mapped to cadres employable by the Government of Uganda, and these cadres will gradually transition to the Ugandan payroll. Faith-based health facilities are also covered under the arrangement. The Ugandan government will support faith-based providers through mechanisms such as performance-based service agreements, increased primary health care (PHC) grants, and support for digitization and community health insurance initiatives.
U.S. Ambassador William W. Popp said, “This agreement represents a significant commitment by the United States and Uganda to co-invest in our 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.”
Uganda’s Finance Minister Matia Kasaija also committed to gradually increasing the health sector budget. “…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.” Uganda signs the deal shortly after Kenya signed a similar agreement last Thursday, sparking debates over data security and health information management.
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