Vincent Bagambe, the Director of Planning and Strategic Information at the Uganda Aids Commission, warned that the withdrawal of U.S. funding will derail Uganda’s progress in combating HIV/AIDS.
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Vincent Bagambe, the Director of Planning and Strategic Information at the Uganda Aids Commission appearing before Parliament's Health Committee.
The Uganda AIDS Commission and AHF Uganda Cares have appealed for the allocation of Shs300 billion to cater for critical drugs and laboratory supplies in the provision of HIV/AIDS services. Officials from the organizations made the call on Tuesday while appearing before Parliament’s Health Committee chaired by MP Joseph Ruyonga. This follows the freezing of funding through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), following an executive order by U.S. President, Donald Trump.
USAID is a big funder of health activities in Uganda and other countries in Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East through its US Dollars 50 billion budget. Vincent Bagambe, the Director of Planning and Strategic Information at the Uganda Aids Commission, warned that the withdrawal of U.S. funding will derail Uganda’s progress in combating HIV/AIDS.
“We are at a critical juncture. Uganda has made significant strides in reducing new infections and AIDS-related deaths, but the sudden cut in funding puts these gains at risk. We need an additional Shs300 billion to ensure uninterrupted access to treatment, laboratory monitoring, and other essential services,” he said.
His statement to the committee revealed that Uganda spends approximately Shs1.9 trillion annually on HIV services, with 60 percent of this funding coming from donors, primarily the U.S. government through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Bagambe added that the executive orders by the U.S. president have halted grant disbursements, leading to uncertainty among implementing partners, some of whom have already begun closing clinics and laying off staff. “If we do not act swiftly, we risk a crisis where thousands of people living with HIV may not receive their medication, increasing the chances of drug resistance and new infections,” Bagambe added.
The Uganda Aids Commission further called for an increase in the HIV Mainstreaming allocation from the current 0.1 percent to 0.5 percent of the national budget. This adjustment will generate an additional Shs200 billion helping to sustain vital prevention and treatment services.
“The current allocation is inadequate. Increasing it to 0.5 percent will ensure that critical interventions such as viral load monitoring, counseling services, and logistics for antiretroviral distribution continue without disruption,” Bagambe said. According to the latest statistics from the Commission, Uganda has 1.49 million people living with HIV, with a prevalence rate of 5.1 percent.
In 2023 alone, there were 38,000 new infections and 20,000 AIDS-related deaths. Young people aged 15 to 24, particularly adolescent girls and young women, remain the most affected demographic. Flavia Kyomukama from the National Forum of People Living with HIV stated that with the freeze of funding, the stand-alone ART clinics, youth centers, shelters, and safe spaces for people treating HIV/AIDS are being phased out, and this will limit access to medication, counseling, and also worsen stigma.
She warned that the USAID exit is not just a freeze, but “a freeze on lives, a freeze on bloodline; we are slowly dying, and we are asking our Parliament to represent us,” she added. Trevor Emojel, a Youth Officer at Uganda Cares, asked Parliament to support the manufacturer of ART by giving tax breaks and low-interest financing and waivers and supporting Quality Chemicals, among others. He also called for the fast-tracking of the HIV sustainable strategy and ensuring its full financing.
Jacqueline Makokha, the UNAIDS Country Director, said that a local solution between the government, partners and civil society needs to come up with a strategy stating that it will be tough but more sustainable. “We need to come up with our homegrown solutions; solutions will not come from outside. It has to come from us internally who are facing this situation,” she said.
Lulume Bayigga, the Buikwe County South MP, emphasized that Uganda must take responsibility for addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis following USAID’s exit. He highlighted the need for local investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing and stressed that Parliament requires clear strategies on medicine access and stigma reduction.
"With the medicines, if at all we cut down on our expenditure and provide a basket fund, we can purchase the medicines," he said.
Sarah Netalisire, the Namisindwa Woman MP, warned of increased stigma under the proposed integration of HIV services into general outpatient departments. She questioned how rural patients, previously reached by NGOs, will access treatment. “We have got people who have lived HIV positive for over 10 years but they have never declared their status… they wait for drugs to find them where they are,” Netalisire said. She called for the operationalization of the AIDS Trust Fund to replace lost donor funding.
The Health Committee Chairperson, Ruyonga, appealed to the Ministry of Health to prioritize saying that the funding freeze has shocked the country. “We may not be able to raise all the funds to run the activities as you have been doing. Can the Ministry of Health address all the stakeholders in a single meeting and see how to resolve this,” he said. The government is now under pressure to find urgent funding alternatives to sustain the fight against HIV/AIDS.
