Uganda to receive shs2.2trillion from Global Fund to fight  HIV, Malaria

The Global Fund is set to give Uganda $600 million(shs2.2trillion) to help the country in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB between 2024 and 2026.

Through the Country Coordinating Mechanisms which is the national committee that submits funding applications to the Global Fund and oversees grants, Uganda is expected to submit the application to secure the release of the funds.

On Wednesday, the Country Coordinating Mechanism(CCM) for Global Fund organized a consultative meeting with stakeholders on how the money will be prioritized.

Speaking during the meeting, the Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, Dr. Diana Atwine said there is currently a surge in Malaria cases in the country but noted that the fight should be a collective responsibility.

“We must ensure the community takes responsibility of their health. It should not be for government or Ministry of Health alone. Everyone should know that clearing the bushes and stagnant water around their homes and sleeping under mosquito nets should not wait for government,”Dr.Atwine said.

The Health Ministry Permanent Secretary said boarding schools must ensure all learners sleep under treated mosquito nets but must also fumigate their premises.

She said all these regulations will be included in the implementation of the newly enacted Public Health Act.

According to Andrew Musoke the chairperson of the Country Coordinating Mechanism(CCM), they are now discussing key priorities where they are going to spend the Global Fund money in the most efficiency way.

“After the Covid pandemic, the health system is quite broken and there are so many things we must do but there is not enough money for all of them. We therefore have to prioritise on how to use the Global Fund money but at the same time discuss with government and development partners to ensure all the funds are utilized in the most efficient way,” Musoke said.

Speaking about the funds, the chairperson of CCM explained Uganda  qualified for the funding as a vote of confidence for the  proper utilization and direction of previous funding towards its intended use and ensuring best practices during the administering of the fund.

“These allocations have increased because of Uganda’s strategic utilization of these resources. The previous allocation was about $550 million but has now increased to  $600 million. With the new funding we want to see strengthening of health system in terms of pandemic preparedness but also go down to communities and strengthen their participation in the fight.”

Tonny Luyimbazi, the CCM secretariat coordinator insisted on empowering the public to follow the monies given to government.

“We want the public gets interested in the oversight role of the grants. In the past, the public has not taken part in the oversight process of the grant implementation but we want this to change,”Luyimbazi said.