Aid alignment: A longer term lens on trends in development assistance for health in Uganda

Elizabeth Stierman, Freddie Ssengooba, Sara Bennett

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Over the past decade, development assistance for health (DAH) in Uganda has increased dramatically, surpassing the government's own expenditures on health. Yet primary health care and other priorities identified in Uganda's health sector strategic plan remain underfunded.Methods: Using data available from the Creditor Reporting System (CRS), National Health Accounts (NHA), and government financial reports, we examined trends in how donors channel DAH and the extent to which DAH is aligned with sector priorities. The study follows the flow of DAH from the donor to the implementing organization, specifying the modality used for disbursing funds and categorizing funds based on program area or support function.Findings: Despite efforts to improve alignment through the formation of a sector-wide approach (SWAp) for health in 1999 and the creation of a fund to pool resources for identified priorities, increasingly DAH is provided as short-term, project-based support for disease-specific initiatives, in particular HIV/AIDS.Conclusion: These findings highlight the need to better align external resources with country priorities and refocus attention on longer-term sector-wide objectives.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number7
JournalGlobalization and health
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 20 2013

Keywords

  • Foreign aid
  • Health financing
  • Health policy
  • International cooperation
  • Paris declaration
  • Sector-wide approach

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health Policy
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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