A recent move by former U.S. President Donald Trump to halt aid as part of a broader reassessment of foreign policy has reignited debate on Uganda’s heavy reliance on donor funding for critical public health programs, particularly HIV treatment.
Currently, Uganda’s HIV response is almost entirely funded by external donors, raising concerns about the sustainability of care if such interruptions persist.
Nuru Nakibuuka Musisi, Deputy Executive Director at the Center for Health, Human Rights, and Development (CEHURD), emphasized that Uganda passed the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Act a decade ago, which included provisions for an HIV/AIDS Fund.
However, the fund has never been operationalized. She argues that had it been in place—or if Uganda had a functioning National Health Insurance Scheme—the uncertainty surrounding access to HIV treatment during the three-month U.S. funding pause would not have arisen.
Nakibuuka’s comments come amid growing alarm from activists, who report that students living with HIV were denied sufficient refills of antiretroviral drugs before returning to boarding school for the new term.
Mary Rio Babirye, Executive Director of the Uganda Network of Young People Living with HIV, said that young people have been reaching out to her organization after being turned away from their clinics. Many health workers were sent home due to the funding freeze, leaving patients stranded.
“There’s fear that this will not only lead to stigma and discrimination at school as students start falling sick, but also that those recently enrolled on treatment will miss their viral load monitoring appointments, which are crucial for adherence,” Babirye warned.
Flavia Kyomukama, who lives with HIV, described the growing panic among people living with the virus.
“There’s so much misinformation. Some people, after hearing that grants were canceled, won’t even go to their health facilities to check if they can still get medicine. Others have started skipping doses to stretch out their supplies, fearing stockouts. Parliament needs to think about these people,” she said, urging rights activists to push back against government inaction.
Three days after the Ministry of Health received official communication about the funding pause, Permanent Secretary Dr. Diana Atwine sought to reassure the public, stating that Uganda had enough HIV drug stockpiles to last through the three-month gap. However, NGOs have challenged this claim, calling it misleading.
Nakibuuka insists that rather than prioritizing a supplementary budget for the controversial Lubowa Hospital project, the government should be focusing on ensuring continued care for vulnerable groups, such as schoolchildren who need uninterrupted HIV treatment.
Beyond HIV treatment, Trump’s aid suspension is also affecting Uganda’s tuberculosis programs, contraceptive distribution, and malaria interventions, further exposing the country’s fragile health financing model.