The Ministry of Finance has, on Wednesday, announced a UGX 20 Billion addition to the supplementary budget meant to fight COVID-19 and its effects in Uganda. The Minister of Finance, Matia Kasaija tabled this budget on Tuesday in Parliament.

The budget that now stands at UGX 304 Billion from yesterday’s intended UGX 284 Billion was contested by Members of the Parliament after it showed the Security Ministry taking a bigger share of UGX 81 Billion compared to the Health Ministry which was originally given UGX 62 Billion.

The added UGX 20 Billion is for the Ministry of Health which will now get UGX 82 Billion to manage the spread of COVID-19 and to care for those already infected. This comes a day after the President, Yoweri Museveni addressed the nation to clarify on the directives on Private transport and curfew.

In his speech, the President also mentioned that health workers from around the country were finding it hard to fight the illness because of lack of equipment and protective gear. The hope is that this budget will address some of these challenges.

Other sectors that will receive funds from this budget include disaster management which will take about UGX 59 Billion, Local governments set to take UGX 36 Billion, Kampala Capital City Authority will work with UGX 30 Billion and the ICT sector will take UGX 14 Billion.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Uganda is still rising. By Tuesday evening, Uganda had registered 44 confirmed COVID-19 cases. This after the President confirmed 11 more cases. The 11 cases were all members of the Watoto Children’s choir.