EU gives sh26b to Health

By John Eremu.THE European Union (EU) has given Uganda a 17m Euro (sh26b) grant for developing human resources under the health sector.The agreement for the grant was sealed in Kampala yesterday by the head of the EU delegation, Mr. Sigurd Illing, and finance minister Gerald Ssendaula.The commissioner for aid co-ordination, Mr. Patrick Ocailap, said the grant would be disbursed over a five-year period and was under the eighth European Development Fund (EDF) support programme.“The grant will be for various activities geared towards the attainment of a well-trained, well-motivated health sector workforce that will meet the needs of Uganda, thus improving the health status of the population,” Ocailap said. A statement from the finance ministry indicates that the biggest component of the grant, (sh10.7b) will go towards infrastructure development and equipping of health training institutions. sh6.2b is for developing management and training capacity.The statement also said sh4.8b would be for strengthening the health policy and planning units, sh3.1b for technical assistance, sh351m for review and evaluation audit and sh641m has been set aside for contingencies.Finance state ministers Isaac Musumba (Planning), Prof. Peter Kasenene (Privatisation) and Mwesigwa Rukutana (General Duties) witnessed the ceremony at the ministry headquarters. Education and sports state minister Oryem Okello was also present.