By Agnes Kiconco

KIU, Main Campus - The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Matia Kasaija alongside World Bank Country Manager, Mukami Kariuki signed USD 180.3 million grant financing agreements for Uganda Covid-19 Response and Emergency Preparedness Project.

The funds will be used by the Ministry of Health to procure COVID-19 vaccines.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng said the fund will be used to deploy vaccines and ensure it reaches the beneficiaries, enhance disease surveillance, and infrastructural development.  

"I was glad to be part of the team to witness the signing of additional funding of USD 180.3M between @mofpedU and @WorldBank for the Uganda Covid-19 Response and Emergency Preparedness Project. The funds will be used by the Ministry of Health to procure COVID 19 vaccines," Dr. Aceng wrote on Twitter.

As additional funds are dedicated to procuring COVID-19 vaccines, Uganda is fully out of the ‘Third COVID-19 Wave’ as seen in the significant drop in cumulative confirmed cases, marked reduction in positivity rates and deaths.

Dr. Aceng said the only three districts in the alert phase are; Moyo, Mpigi, and Kampala.

The minister said the key drivers of transmission in these sub-regions hinge mainly on the local socio-economic factors like; community perception that COVID-19 is no longer serious since the numbers have reduced, the full re-opening of the economy, and unvaccinated persons.