The Vice President, Jessica Alupo, has pledged $3m (about sh11b) as Uganda’s contribution to Global Fund, a global initiative that was formed to fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and COVID-19. 

Alupo made the pledge during the Global Fund’s 7th pledge meeting convened by the President of US, Joe Biden, on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, in New York on Wednesday (September 21). 

“I have, on behalf of Uganda, pledged $3m towards the Global Fund seventh replenishment. Over the years, the fund has helped us realise significant strides in the fight against HIV/AIDs, Malaria, Tuberculosis, and most recently, COVID-19. Uganda is happy to make its contribution,” she said. 

At the meeting, Alupo was accompanied by the Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng. 

"We recognise need to increase support for this replenishment by at least 30%. I am pleased to announce Uganda’s pledge of $3m, an increase of 50% towards required investment," Alupo said.  

A statement issued by officials from the office of the Vice President, stated that: “approximately $2.3 billion in grants from the Global Fund has been given to Uganda to address key challenges in three areas of malaria, HIV/AIDS, TB and most recently COVID-19, as well as strengthening health systems.” 

“Over the years, the fund has made significant contributions towards Uganda’s efforts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases in the country. Uganda has over time, been recognised for its performance in the fund utilisation, resulting into notable results,” the statement noted.  

“Statistics from Ministry of Health indicate that increased use of Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has seen effective change indicating that of the 1.4 million Ugandans with HIV/AIDS,  over 95% are on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 90% of them are virally suppressed,” officials added in their statement.