'Alternative funding will fill USAID gap'

Unless there is alternative funding to the wiheld USAID aid, the lives of millions of needy Ugandans, including the sick and poor will be at stake, said leaders of civil society organisations (CSOs), human rights activists, technocrats and political leaders in eastern Uganda.

The call follows the blanket foreign aid cut that was occasioned immediately after Donald Trump was sworn in as US president hit Uganda and over 100 other countries supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) hard.

During a workshop at Source of the Nile Hotel in Jinja on February 14, 2025, experts said there should be efforts to devise strategies for solutions including an alternative source of funding for the affected activities, to avoid catastrophes that may come as a result of the aid cut.

Thousands of employees are likely to lose their employment with the closure of several non-government organisations and government agencies that received funding from USAID.

IPAS Africa Alliance policy and community engagement advisor Dennis Asiimwe said: Every other day, the once powerful NGO's, that have been at the helm of assisting different types of clients are closing down without any signs of re-opening.

Annah Kukundakwe, the project manager IPAS.

Participants resolved to step up sensitisation of communities through radio talk shows and community meetings about the need to stay safe from contracting illnesses like HIV/aids and the care for those already infected.

It was also noted that certain cultural practices such as circumcision rituals locally called ‘Imbalu’ in Bugisu region increase the vulnerability of teenagers and the high spread of HIV among young people.

It was therefore resolved that cultural leaders must be engaged and involved in an attempt to combat the spread of the deadly virus.

Annah Kukundakwe, the project manager of IPAS revealed that in Busoga, child labour, mostly through sugarcane cutting, fishing and working in rice fields were noted as some of the contributors of child vulnerability and exploitation which results in teenage pregnancy and early marriage.

The meeting attended by leaders of districts in eastern Uganda later in the day, came up with each locality's challenges and solutions for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).

The Jinja Resident City Commissioner, Richard Gulume, appealed to people to restrain from immoral behaviour arguing that unless this is done the situation may get out of hand since there is little hope of free medicine because after the aid cuts.

He particularly asked parents, guardians and teachers to jealously guard children against immorality.