Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Matia Kasaija has announced that the government will inject Shs 5.87 trillion into Uganda’s health sector in the 2025/26 financial year, with a focus on improving infrastructure, emergency response, and access to primary healthcare.
While delivering the Budget Speech for FY2025/26 before Parliament, Kasaija said government efforts in the current financial year had yielded major achievements in health service delivery, including expanded access to medicines, improved hospital facilities, and strengthened disease prevention.
“We have continued to invest in saving the lives of Ugandans by providing Shs 721 billion for healthcare supplies and essential medicines,” Kasaija told Parliament. The funding included Shs 116.8 billion for ARVs, Shs 100 billion for essential medicines, and Shs 17.8 billion for immunisation supplies.
He also pointed to significant infrastructure upgrades. “We completed and commissioned three Regional Blood Banks in Hoima, Arua, and Soroti, and operationalised 16 oxygen plants across key referral hospitals,” he said. The minister added that the controversial Lubowa Specialised Hospital had reached 68 percent completion, with specialist training underway.
Kasaija highlighted the government’s focus on preventive care. “We trained and deployed Community Health Extension Workers to deliver vital health education across the country,” he said. In addition, residual spraying in 13 districts protected 2.7 million people and 560,000 households against malaria. The malaria vaccine was also introduced into the national immunisation programme.
Digital transformation was another key area of progress. Kasaija said the government had expanded the Electronic Medical Records System to four National and 16 Regional Referral Hospitals, which improved “patient record management, drug dispensing, and monitoring of health worker attendance.”
Looking ahead, Kasaija said the Shs 5.87 trillion allocated for the 2025/26 health budget will support the functionalisation of Health Centre IVs, strengthening of community health services, scaling up of national e-health infrastructure, and construction of specialised cancer and cardiovascular facilities.
“These investments reflect our continued commitment to building a healthier Uganda,” Kasaija said, noting that strengthening the health sector remains central to national development goals.
