Uganda’s Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the global health organisation WHO, held a two-day roundtable discussion to reflect on priority strategies and reform.
The discussion aimed to accelerate progress towards sustainable and effective health financing in Uganda.
The event brought together health financing experts from various government ministries, departments, and agencies, as well as development and implementation partners and academia, to share evidence-based information about Uganda’s health financing landscape.
In an official statement, the WHO stated that Uganda will identify, consider, and agree on policy and practice recommendations to improve the health system’s performance and meet the population’s health needs.
“Countries committed to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as part of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goal is to ensure that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need without facing financial hardship whilst receiving needed health services,” WHO added.
Six years to the end of the SGDs era, WHO notes that several countries, including Uganda are facing challenges that are compromising their movement towards Universal Health Coverage.
Dr Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, Uganda Minister of Health, speaking at the opening ceremony, pointed out that the country’s health resources are highly fragamented.
Because of fragmentation, Dr. Aceng said it has caused mismatch with government priorities leading to duplication and wastage of resources.
“To achieve our universal health coverage, I urge all partners to channel their resources through a single system to facilitate efficiency and coordination,” she added.
Uganda – through the Ministry of Health with support from WHO and partners, has made comemndable progress in improving health financing landacape in Uganda.
The government’s budget allocation to the sector has steadily increased with an annual health budget growth rate of 10% in the 2022/23 financial year.
Since then, the government has moved from input-output budgeting to program based budgeting which promotes efficiency and resource priotisation.
To support strategic operations, WHO says Uganda has introduced and integrated result based funding mechanism.
While these efforts are comemndable, recent assessment of Uganda’s health financing system highlights persistent challanges of achieving UHC.
“To meet our goal of Universal Health Coverage, it’s essential to strengthen strategies to improve government resource allocation to the health sector and to ensure that donor effort in support of essential health programs are essential,” said Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, WHO representative to Uganda.
At the event, three health financing knowledge products that provides insights on the health financing landscape in Uganda were launched.
They include the National Health Accounts 2016-2019, the Health Financing Matrix 2024, and the Report of the Midterm Review of the Health Financing Strategy.
“These products and the recommendations from this roundtable will inform subsequent policy dialogue and reforms to catalyse progress towards universal health coverage in Uganda,” said Christabell Abewe, Health Financing Officer at WHO Uganda.
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