The United States extended assistance valued at US$953 million, (Shs3.4 trillion) for the Ugandan people in 2020, the fifth annual U.S Report to the Ugandan People shows.
The report was released on Tuesday, December 14, by the U.S Mission in Uganda and presided over by the U.S ambassador to Uganda, Natalie E Brown.
The report tells the story of the United States’ enduring partnership with the Ugandan people, focusing on the impact of the U.S work to promote economic growth and employability, improve health and education, foster democratic values, and strengthen security.
Of the money, $517 million was extended to the health sector, $206M to Uganda to host 1.4 million refugees, $60M went to economic growth especially in agriculture while $13M was extended to promote justice and democracy in the country.
The ambassador, said that amidst the challenges of corruption, every dollar the U.S invests in Uganda is upheld to the highest standards of oversight saying this is one America’s initiatives to promote financial transparency and accountability for the use of public resources.
“Corruption is a significant challenge in Uganda and many countries throughout the world. That’s why we have very rigorous processes in place for monitoring and evaluating how U.S. assistance funds are spent,” Brown said.
In terms of support towards fight against Covid-19, the report shows that since the start of the pandemic, the U.S has provided assistance valued at more than $122 million specifically to support Uganda’s Covid response and donated just over 9.4 million Covid vaccine doses to help in the fight against the pandemic.
The U.S support to Uganda’s health sector was also extended to accelerating HIV programs (ARV) through assistance to nearly 55,000 new patients being placed on HIV treatment in 2020, bringing the total number of Ugandans with HIV/AIDS currently receiving treatment to 86% of those who are infected.
According to Brown, even though these figures seem to be significant, the story of America’s partnership with the Ugandan people is not one of dollar figures, but of lives impacted.
“And what we know today is that millions of ordinary Ugandans are living healthier, learning better, earning more, and participating more fully in their communities because of this partnership,” Brown said.
The report also highlights that in 2020, U.S intensified its investments in Uganda notably in the coffee sector where America’s investments helped Uganda achieve record earnings of $500 million from coffee exports in 2020 while supporting more women and youth to join the sector.
Furthermore, the U.S trained 360,000 youth to gain gain skills to thrive in the agriculture sector and improve their entrepreneurship abilities.
“USAID’s Youth Livelihoods Activity (YLA) provided market-relevant skills to more than 162,000 youth farmers, more than half of whom were women. A further 112,293 youth were trained in market-driven technical skills, 49,492 youth were trained for workforce readiness, and 645 youth received entrepreneurship skills training,” the report says.
In spite of the challenges presented by Covid-19 since early 2020, the ambassador says she is proud of the tangible and, in many respects, remarkable, achievements outlined in this year’s report.
