Uganda’s National Budget for the 2025/2026 financial year arrived with a few surprises in store for us all. When you want to know what is most valued in a place, as the saying goes, follow the money. Ugandans will benefit from the sizable bump in the health sector fund allocation, but how well has each part of the health sector been funded? What is the verdict for the Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) industry?
The 2025/2026 Health Sector Fund Allocation
Presented on 12th June 2025 at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, the overall national budget 2025/2026 for Uganda adds up to a hefty UGX 2.136 trillion. The Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, Hon. Matia Kasaija, presented the budget in its revered ceremonial leather briefcase, alongside the fiscal year theme: “Full Monetization of Uganda’s Economy through Commercial Agriculture, Industrialization, Expanding and Broadening Services, Digital Transformation and Market Access.”
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This year, the health sector is refreshed with newfound priority. With UGX 5.87 trillion, the health sector fund allocation is over double last year’s allocation of UGX 2.95 trillion and makes up 8.1% of the entire budget. The government intends to expand the operation of Health Centre IIIs and IVs, enhance the national ambulance and emergency response network, scale up the national e-health infrastructure, and deploy Community Health extension workers, among others. The state has already invested in critical machinery like CT and X-ray machines for regional referral hospitals.
This all spells good news. Good health is at the core of a functional society, and Uganda’s health sector has suffered from years of underfunding. It’s a critical factor in determining the lives of all Ugandans from both an economic and a quality of life perspective. However, not every part of the sector has been touched by the increase in funds.
SRHR Sector Funding
According to the National Budget Framework Paper, the current baseline mortality rate is 189 deaths for every 100,000 births, a 24% teenage pregnancy rate and 1.23 new HIV infections per 1000 of the susceptible population. This indicates the urgent need for focused funding and execution within Uganda’s SRHR sector.
According to the Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), only UGX 3.01 billion has been allocated to reproductive and child health, a slight drop from last year, despite the growing need for adolescent and family planning services.
These are not mere numbers. Each budget line represents a young mother without access to antenatal care, a menstruating girl using dirty rags because she has no access to period products, an overwhelmed single father with no resources on how to raise his new-born after his wife died in childbirth, an HIV-positive student who can’t afford to buy the ARVs that keep them alive, or an aging grandparent struggling to raise the children their pregnant teen had no resources to handle.
SRHR is not a mere “by-the-way” within the public health sector; it’s an undeniable foundation stone for the formation and continuation of families across Uganda. Although a general budget increase will definitely result in incidental improvement of SRHR, there is a desperate need for more focused funding of SRHR to meet the needs of the population.
Domestic Versus International Funding
Earlier this year, Uganda was one of the many countries hit by the temporary shutdown of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by USA’s President Trump, followed by a massive cut of funding to many USAID-funded programmes. A substantial number of these aid-funded programmes were eventually shut down, leaving thousands of employees out of work and the communities they served without support. The health sector was the worst affected, which explains the Ugandan government’s decision to increase domestic funding of the health sector.
81.5% of this year’s budget allocation has come from domestic resources, which signals a marked improvement in our over-dependence on foreign aid. However, we still have a long way to go to become a truly self-sufficient economy. The current global political landscape has harshly proven that foreign aid is never fully reliable and almost always comes with strings attached.
To meet its commitments to its citizens, the government must continue to re-evaluate its funding priorities and increase the efficiency of service delivery after allocation.
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
The re-prioritization of the health sector is a breath of fresh air. That being said, the government must continue to strengthen domestic funding towards the SRHR sector in particular. In the face of global policy shifts, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and non-profits in the industry are still struggling to adequately provide for the communities which rely on them. It is time for the government to step in to further increase domestic funding for reproductive, sexual and maternal health for the good of all Ugandans. As SRHR advocates, we must continue to seek more sustainable financial resources to keep our initiatives alive. It’s time for all of us to put our money where our mouths are.
This article has been guest written by Cynthia Kinyera, a Professional Storyteller, Feminist. Founder of the Ugandan Digital Writers’ Association, and a communications specialist. Check her out on her website here.