By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Uganda will receive at least $1.7 billion of U.S. funding for its health sector over the next five years, the U.S embassy in Uganda said in a statement, making it the latest African nation to reach a deal with the US government since the overhaul of its approach to foreign aid.
Other East African countries, including Kenya and Rwanda had earlier agreed to similar deals under President Donald Trump’s “America First Global Health Strategy”.
Under the deal, poorer nations are expected to play a bigger role in fighting infectious diseases in their respective countries and eventually transition from aid to self-reliance.
According to the embassy, the U.S. funds will support priority health programmes in Uganda on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health and polio amongst other things.
Uganda’s government will increase its own health spending by $500 million “to gradually assume greater financial responsibility over the course of the framework,” its finance ministry said in a post on X.
“This collaboration will yield not only disease-specific outcomes but also significant improvements in national systems, institutions and workforce capacity,” Finance Minister Matia Kasaija said.
The U.S. has been a major donor to Uganda’s health sector, but financial support has fallen this year after Trump cut the foreign aid budget and shuttered USAID.
