By Our Reporter
Uganda’s healthcare system is reeling after the permanent closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a move that has left millions of vulnerable citizens at risk and health officials scrambling for alternatives.
Finalized on Tuesday, the Trump administration’s decision to shut down USAID has brought an abrupt end to decades of crucial health assistance in Uganda, affecting a wide range of programmes from HIV/AIDS treatment and malaria control to maternal health and child immunization. The closure follows months of budget cuts and now threatens to reverse 20 years of progress in public health.
“This is catastrophic,” said Uganda’s Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng. “Most of our lifesaving programmes have been funded through USAID. Without this support, we risk reversing the health gains we’ve made over the past two decades.”
According to the Ministry of Health, Uganda now faces an estimated Shs500 billion budget shortfall, with immediate consequences already being felt. Multiple districts are reporting shortages of antiretroviral drugs, malaria test kits, and critical family planning commodities.
USAID, which contributed over $500 million to Uganda in 2022 alone, has been one of the largest donors to the country’s health sector, including major support for the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), child immunization campaigns, and maternal health services.
The decision to dismantle the agency has sent shockwaves through Uganda’s public health infrastructure, particularly among NGOs and community-level health workers who have long depended on USAID supply chains.
“This is not just a funding issue. It’s about lives,” said Kalema, a regional HIV/AIDS programme coordinator in western Uganda. “We relied on USAID for medicines, diagnostics, and outreach. We are now watching that entire system collapse in real time.”
With USAID operations now dissolved into the U.S. State Department, many of its personnel are reportedly on administrative leave and key health programmes are left in limbo. The Ugandan government has begun urgent consultations to explore alternative funding mechanisms, but health officials warn that the gap is too large to fill quickly.
The development has triggered concern among international health bodies, with fears that Uganda’s progress in reducing HIV/AIDS infections, maternal mortality, and childhood disease could be rapidly undone if emergency funding is not secured.
For now, the fate of Uganda’s healthcare lies uncertain—caught in the fallout of foreign policy decisions made thousands of miles away. As clinics brace for drug stock-outs and reduced services, the country faces a looming public health crisis unless a swift, coordinated response is mobilized.