Ever since the President of the United States issued executive orders to pause funding to all countries, Uganda has been one of the most affected.
Sectors such as health, education, and those addressing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for women and girls, among others, were greatly affected. Even more concerning, vulnerable groups including women, young girls, and people living with HIV/AIDS were hit the hardest. Disruptions in service delivery, particularly in healthcare, have forced many to purchase antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) that were previously provided free of charge.
The issue paper on the impact of President Donald Trump’s executive orders on women’s rights in Uganda revealed that numerous treatment centres where over 1.2 million Ugandans previously received free medical care are closing, leaving patients highly vulnerable. Additionally, as some hospitals begin implementing policies that publicly identify individuals living with HIV/AIDS, these individuals are facing increased stigma and marginalization, significantly affecting their quality of life.
The paper highlights that prior to President Trump’s executive orders, Uganda was receiving substantial funding from the United States across various sectors. For example, in the fiscal year 2016, the U.S. government, through USAID, provided over USD 227 million to Uganda primarily for HIV/AIDS, family planning, and maternal and child health. By September 2022, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was supporting antiretroviral therapy for over 1.3 million Ugandans. This raises an important question: how are these individuals currently surviving in the absence or reduction of such support?
During the dissemination meeting of the paper at Golf Course Hotel in Kampala, Professor Josephine Ahikire from the School of Women and Gender Studies at Makerere University who led the research called on the government to reallocate funds wasted on luxury trips for elites and other non-essential welfare expenditures to the finance and health sectors. She emphasized that such reallocation would help address the country’s financial deficit.
The Deputy Director at the Women’s Pro Bono Initiative, Rose Wakikona, noted a significant gap in the health sector, which had been partly funded by external donors. For example, 90% of ARVs were funded by PEPFAR and the Global Fund, both of which received substantial support from the U.S. She explained that since the funding pause under President Trump’s orders, people no longer have enough access to ARVs. ‘What we anticipate is that people are going to die because they no longer have access to ARVs.” she stressed.
Rose expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s continued promises to address the situation, but no clear plans have been presented on how they intend to fill the gaps. She also pointed out that while Parliament keeps discussing the issue, no supplementary budget has been proposed, even though other supplementary budgets are being presented repeatedly.
Michelle Alum from Acts101 Uganda reported that when the executive orders were issued, not only people living with HIV/AIDS were affected, but also those in the prevention industry. They had been focusing on various prevention technologies for women and girls, including PEP, Lenacapavir, the vaginal ring, and other measures. However, many of these products, still under research, were halted as funding was stopped.
She stressed that hope was lost because all the progress made was cut off, leaving uncertainty about the future of prevention research in Uganda. The prevention products that have been made available cannot be disseminated because they lack the necessary authority, due to their expiry dates, and many of them are set to be destroyed. She added that the prevention products, such as PrEP and PEP, that are still available for dissemination are not accessible to everyone.
Similarly, the Program Director at Africa Queer Network, Pius Kennedy Kiggundu, stated that while the executive orders are something they’ve had to accept and adapt to, they have caused significant damage. He noted that the orders have severely affected programming and organizational activities, leading to a noticeable decline in operations and negatively impacting beneficiaries.
