Uganda’s health sector is staring down a dangerous funding gap of Shs1.776 trillion for the 2025/26 financial year—raising alarm over the future of public health services across the country.
The Ministry of Health had requested Shs3.2 trillion to cover essential programs and systems. However, the funds allocated fall drastically short, sparking fears of widespread service collapse in areas like HIV care, malaria control, emergency response, and cancer screening.
According to a report by Parliament’s Health Committee, the funding crisis stems largely from the withdrawal of donor support—triggered in part by previous U.S. executive orders that have had lasting ripple effects on foreign aid.
The committee highlighted a Shs604 billion deficit in critical health programs alone, including:
- HIV/Aids services – Shs243.2 billion short
- Malaria control – Shs121 billion short
- Health workforce support – Shs67.8 billion short
- Tuberculosis care – Shs60.2 billion short
- Health data systems – Shs36.9 billion short
- Laboratories – Shs35.4 billion short
- Health waste management – Shs22.2 billion short
- Nutrition services – Shs16.5 billion short
- Neglected tropical diseases – Shs0.78 billion short
Dr. Joseph Ruyonga, chair of the Health Committee, warned that the health sector is already under strain.
“Even crucial counterpart funding for HIV and emergency services remains unfunded,” he told Parliament. “We are dangerously underprepared.”
Parliament Sounds Alarm on ‘Unrealistic Budgeting’
The crisis has triggered fiery debate in the House. Legislators questioned several funding decisions, including the controversial allocation of Shs4 billion for reagents used in cancer screening—despite no budget being set aside for purchasing the necessary PET machines.
“How do you fund reagents without buying the machines themselves?” asked Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa. “This kind of budgeting makes no sense. It’s wasteful.”
Shs35 billion has been earmarked for opening new cancer screening centers—yet these centers risk being empty shells, lacking the actual equipment needed to function.
PET (Positron Emission Tomography) machines are critical tools for detecting cancer early and monitoring treatment. Without them, the entire initiative falls apart.
Ministers Admit the Health System Is Struggling
Multiple ministers echoed Parliament’s growing concern, sharing grim accounts from their constituencies.
Hanifa Kawooya, State Minister for Health, and Disaster Preparedness Minister Musa Ecweru both painted a sobering picture—describing overwhelmed referral hospitals, broken ambulance systems, and communities left to fend for themselves.
“The situation is heartbreaking,” said Ecweru. “We are not even near meeting minimum healthcare standards.”
Time for a Hard Reset in Health Planning
Lawmakers are now urging the Ministry of Finance to rethink its priorities. Many believe the health budget must be more strategic, focusing on essentials rather than spreading funds thinly across sectors.
“We can’t keep planning like this—funding everything just a little and achieving nothing meaningful,” said one MP.
As the budget debates continue, the consequences of this shortfall are becoming painfully clear: fewer medicines, staff shortages, under-equipped facilities, and millions of Ugandans left without adequate care.
Uganda’s healthcare system, already stretched thin, is now at a crossroads. Without urgent intervention and smarter budgeting, the coming year could mark a dangerous regression in public health outcomes.
The core question lingers: How much more must citizens sacrifice before healthcare becomes a priority, not an afterthought?
