Uganda registered its first case of COVID-19 on 21 March 2020 and, as
of 13 April, had registered 53 cases.

The Government of Uganda has responded rapidly, implementing a series of measures and developing national guidelines to prevent and respond to the spread of COVID-19. Coordination has been instituted with the appointment of an Incident Commander,
Incident Management Teams and subcommittees.

Government and partners have been implementing public health preparedness and response activities along eight core pillars: coordination and leadership; surveillance, laboratory support and points of entry; risk communication, social mobilization and community engagement; case management, infection prevention and control; ICT and innovation; WASH; mental health and psychosocial support; and logistics.

The Ministry of Health of Uganda prepared a National COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan that has been updated to respond to the evolving pandemic, modelling data and new evidence aimed at reducing the importation, transmission, morbidity and mortality as well as economic social disruption that might result from the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Government of Uganda and the Ministry of Health, supported by the UN among other partners, are leading a robust response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Beyond the immediate public health aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease will also have humanitarian and socio-economic consequences, as already seen in the global economic slow-down.

The Government of Uganda is proactively taking a number of measures to minimize the multi-faceted impacts of this rapidly evolving situation.
In support of the Government’s response, this UN Emergency Appeal will respond to the most urgent needs in the coming period, prioritizing activities to be implemented within eight weeks and those to be implemented within six months.

The appeal will provide a bridge to longer-term activities focused on recovery and resilience-buildings and leaving no one behind, to be implemented under the UN Sustainable Cooperation Framework (2021-2025), which is under development, in support of the Government’s new National Development Plan III and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).