Uganda and the United States have signed a landmark $2.3 billion health cooperation agreement, strengthening one of Africa’s longest-running health partnerships. The announcement was made in Kampala on Wednesday. The deal falls under the Trump administration’s “America First Global Health Strategy,” which pushes for countries to gradually reduce dependence on foreign aid by increasing their own investment in public health systems.
According to the new Memorandum of Understanding, the U.S. will provide up to $1.7 billion over the next five years to support Uganda’s fight against major infectious diseases,; including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria while also investing in health workers, laboratories, and disease surveillance systems. Uganda, in turn, has committed to boosting its own health budget by over $500 million during the same period, a step both governments say is part of a shift toward “shared responsibility” for long-term health security.
Officials from both sides said the framework is designed to help Uganda build a stronger and more resilient health system, capable not only of managing long-standing diseases but also responding quickly to new outbreaks such as Ebola and COVID-19-like threats. Uganda becomes the third African nation in recent days after Kenya and Rwanda to sign a similar pact with Washington, following U.S. cuts to broader foreign aid and the restructuring of USAID operations.
