Uganda faces empty medicine shelves after USAID left. Patients with HIV can't find their daily pills. Health centers ran out of TLD drugs that help eight in ten HIV patients. Children miss vaccines because clinics lack basic supplies like gloves. The trouble started when Trump stopped aid programs.
The health ministry needs 600 billion shillings to fill these gaps. Many people relied on American help through PEPFAR and other groups. TB medicines disappeared from shelves across the country. Private hospitals suffer shortages, too, since they use the same suppliers. Officials from National Medical Stores avoided talking about the problem.
About 1.4 million Ugandans live with HIV and need medicine every day. Patients arrive early, hoping to grab the last medicine packs. Basic items like syringes vanished from many clinics. Cancer patients at Mulago hospital must pay millions for surgery that used to be free. Some nurses ask for small payments before helping sick people.
The health ministry needs 600 billion shillings to fill these gaps. Many people relied on American help through PEPFAR and other groups. TB medicines disappeared from shelves across the country. Private hospitals suffer shortages, too, since they use the same suppliers. Officials from National Medical Stores avoided talking about the problem.
About 1.4 million Ugandans live with HIV and need medicine every day. Patients arrive early, hoping to grab the last medicine packs. Basic items like syringes vanished from many clinics. Cancer patients at Mulago hospital must pay millions for surgery that used to be free. Some nurses ask for small payments before helping sick people.
