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CHALLENGING TIMES: Health Minister Reveals Donors Have Announced Plans To End Funding Malaria Projects In Uganda

The Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, has told Parliament that the international donors have announced plans to end funding malaria projects in Uganda & have government raise its own funds to fight against malaria because the donors have now turned their focus on other global issues like wars in Ukraine & Gaza as well as climate change activities.

“Our partners are no longer willing to increase any more funding for malaria, they have all levelled off.  We were invited to Cameroon recently, I was there in person and we were told the world has moved on to climate change issues, global health security and to wars in Ukraine and Israel.

So we were told to sign a declaration that each of the 10 high burden countries will look for their own domestic resources and bring their malaria pandemics or epidemics to an end by themselves. So, we aren’t looking for any additional increase of resources for malaria, it has to be domestic resources," Dr Aceng said.  

Unsustainable reliance on foreign donors

The Minister decried Uganda’s over reliance on foreign donors in funding Uganda’s health sector budget, saying that in the 2024/25 national budget the Ministry of Health has been allocated Shs1.328Trn, of which 85% of this total budget is being financed by donors.

“In the 2024/25 national budget, the Ministry of Health has been allocated Shs1.328Trn. We take note that external financing takes the greater percentage. The budget under the Ministry of Health is highly subsidized by external donors at 85% and these funds are earmarked for health commodities like Global Fund and GAVI that benefit the entire health system there is need to moblise domestic resources in a phased manner in the mid-term,” said Dr Aceng.

NOT GOOD AT ALL: Organ Transplant Activities In Uganda Have Been Halted Because Of Lack Of Funds

The Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, has revealed that all organ transplant activities in Uganda have been halted until Shs5bn is availed for the training and operations of the Human Organ Transplant Council.

The Minister announced while appearing before Parliament’s Health Committee, where she explained that Shs5bn is required for the functionalization of the Human Organ Transplant Council of which, Shs3.6bn will be for training & benchmarking, whereas Shs1.4bn will be spent on operations of the Council.

“We have halted all transplant activities because we need a Council in place. Yesterday as you were touring the surgical exhibition, you saw the ready facilities, they can’t operate unless we have a Council and the Council has to be trained because it is virgin land in Uganda,” the minister said.

Donors Quit Funding Malaria

Dr. Aceng also told Parliament that the international donors have announced plans to end funding malaria projects in Uganda & have the government raise its funds to fight against malaria because the donors have now turned their focus on other global issues like wars in Ukraine & Gaza as well as climate change activities.

“Our partners are no longer willing to increase any more funding for malaria, they have all leveled off.  We were invited to Cameroon recently, I was there in person and we were told the world has moved on to climate change issues, global health security and to wars in Ukraine and Israel.

So we were told to sign a declaration that each of the 10 high burden countries will look for their own domestic resources and bring their malaria pandemics or epidemics to an end by themselves. So, we aren’t looking for any additional increase of resources for malaria, it has to be domestic resources," Dr Aceng said.