Uganda Secures $1.7 Billion U.S. Health Funding Under New Bilateral Deal.
Uganda and the United States have signed a $2.3 billion bilateral health cooperation agreement, the two countries announced on Wednesday.
Uganda has secured a major boost to its health sector after signing a new five-year cooperation agreement with the United States worth up to $1.7 billion. The deal, announced under Washington’s new America First Global Health Strategy, aims to strengthen Uganda’s capacity to combat infectious diseases while improving overall health-system resilience.
Under the agreement, the U.S. will channel funding toward key areas including HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, malaria and tuberculosis control, maternal and child health, disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, polio eradication, and the training and deployment of health workers across the country. The package is expected to stabilise critical services that had been under pressure following the U.S. freeze of major foreign-aid programmes earlier this year.
In return, the Ugandan government has committed to increasing domestic health financing by $500 million over the five-year period. Officials say this shared-funding approach is meant to reduce long-term dependence on external aid and strengthen national ownership of essential health programmes.
The new deal comes at a crucial moment. Earlier in 2025, the abrupt halt to U.S. development assistance created significant gaps in Uganda’s health budget, threatening shortages in HIV drugs, slowing vaccination campaigns, and weakening disease-surveillance operations. Health-sector advocates say the fresh U.S. commitment will help close these gaps but warn that transparent management and consistent funding flow will be essential.
Despite the optimism surrounding the agreement, challenges remain. Years of underfunding, infrastructure strain, and rising public-health demands mean Uganda will need both the financial injection and structural reforms to deliver long-term improvements. Observers note that success will depend heavily on strong coordination between both governments, efficient resource allocation, and strengthened oversight to ensure the money translates into real impact on the ground.
Still, the new partnership signals a renewed chapter in U.S.–Uganda health cooperation and offers hope that millions of Ugandans will continue to have access to life-saving services, medicines, and preventive healthcare over the coming years.
