The U.S. Mission in Uganda released today the 2021 Report to the Ugandan People. The report tells the story of the United States’ enduring partnership with the Ugandan people, focusing on the impact of our work to promote economic growth and employability, improve health and education, foster democratic values, and strengthen security.

“Our mission in Uganda is clear: To build a healthy, vibrant, and prosperous society where every Ugandan child, woman, and man has opportunities to achieve their full potential,” U.S. Mission in Uganda Ambassador Natalie E. Brown said on the release of the U.S. Mission’s fifth annual Report to the Ugandan People.

The United States, through 13 government agencies, invests almost $1 billion annually in Ugandan communities. “While the United States’ financial investment in Uganda is significant, we measure success not in dollars spent but in lives impacted,” Ambassador Brown said. “We produce this report to explain what the U.S. government does in Uganda, why we do it, and how we do it,” she said, adding that the vast majority of the United States’ assistance goes not to the government but to implementing partners and local community organizations. “While we implement our assistance programs with great accountability to U.S. taxpayers,” Ambassador Brown noted, “we want the people of Uganda to know that every dollar the United States invests in Uganda is upheld to the highest standards of oversight. Transparency and accountability in our assistance are key.”

The report introduces us to some of the millions of Ugandans whose lives have benefited from U.S. programs in Uganda and are now living healthier, learning better, earning more, and participating more fully in their communities because of our partnership with the Ugandan people.

U.S. assistance highlights include programs on:

• BATTLING COVID-19 TOGETHER: Since day one of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health, medical, and technical experts from the United States Mission in Uganda have worked hand-in-hand with their Ugandan partners to help combat the spread of COVID. America’s COVID-19 support to Uganda includes: Providing 9.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses; Funding 200 Ministry of Health surge positions focused on COVID-19 surveillance and treatment; Donating personal protective equipment for health care workers and life-saving oxygen for COVID patients; Funding personnel and operating expenses at Uganda’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center and providing funds to set up regional Emergency Operations Centers throughout Uganda.
• EDUCATION:  In 2020, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) improved literacy and reading outcomes by training more than 35,000 teachers in reading instruction across more than 3,700 schools.  To help minimize the disruption in learning that came from the COVID-19 pandemic, USAID also provided 350,000 textbooks and training for more than 2,500 community-based study groups, reaching more than 60,000 learners.
• HEALTH: The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) supports the 1.4 million Ugandans estimated to be HIV positive to live long, healthy, productive lives, including through the provision of anti-retroviral drugs. The U.S. Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) program reached 575,000 Ugandan girls and young women to reduce HIV risk by empowering them with life skills and ensuring access to health services. Recognizing that about 30% of tuberculosis patients are HIV co-infected, U.S. efforts also supported almost 18,000 TB/HIV co-infected patients to access TB treatment.
• ECONOMIC GROWTH: The United States has invested in building Uganda’s coffee sector to increase production and exports and support more women and youth to join the coffee sector.  For example, the Ankole Coffee Cooperative, founded in 2006, with assistance from USAID, now has over 10,000 members.  In 2020, Uganda exported an all-time record of more than 6 million bags of coffee, earning over $500 million.