In its World Health Report, 2003, WHO noted that the total per capita expenditure on health care in Uganda was Intl $57 (5.9% of GDP).⁷² Among the countries of Africa, this figure falls within a spending range of Intl $652 in South Africa (8.6% of GDP) and Intl $12 in Democratic Republic of Congo (3.5% of GDP). The smallest spending as a percentage of GDP is found in Equatorial Guinea, at just 2.0% (Tables 8 and 9).

The WHO overall health system performance score places Uganda 149/191 countries. This composite measure of overall health system attainment⁷³ is based on a country’s goals relating to health, responsiveness, and fairness in financing. The measure varies widely across countries and is highly correlated with general levels of human development as captured in the human development index .

The Government of Uganda has adopted a national health policy⁷⁴ and endorsed a five-year plan which began in 2001⁷⁵ that includes palliative care in its remit. As a result, the possibilities for growth - in both service provision and professional education – have been significantly improved.⁷⁶ The Ministry of Health works closely with palliative care stakeholders and during 2004 has co-ordinated a network of services that includes: MoH clinical services and AIDS control programmes, WHO field Office (Kampala), Hospice Africa Uganda , Mildmay International, TASO and Makarere University.⁷⁷

Stjernswärd and Clark comment on Uganda’s Health Strategic plan as follows:

Uganda is the only country in Africa that has made palliative care for people with AIDS and cancer a priority in its National Health Plan where it is classed as ‘essential care’… Uganda has established all the foundation measures as recommended by WHO. A clear national policy has been established, education in palliative care is incorporated into the undergraduate curricula of doctors and nurses, health professionals at all levels are exposed to courses and workshops in pain relief and palliative care and affordable morphine has been made easily available and is produced generically in the country.⁷⁸

Ekiria Kikule, executive director of HAU comments on the role of the government in Uganda:

When this present government came in, in 1986 - remember the civil war and whatever - they had already seen the scourge of AIDS during their bush struggle, so they came in knowing there’s a problem. And they came in openly and said, ‘Look, we have a problem, we need help. What do we do?’ They also started out of a need, I mean: ‘My husband is sick with HIV/AIDS’ or ‘I have lost one - nursing one - maybe you have the disease’ And they would sit and ask themselves: ‘What do we do? How do we do it?’

I remember I was in London in 1988 and Princess Anne came to visit and of course BBC was there, and I felt very proud to see my President on BBC being interviewed. There were all these cameras and whatever, but I remember a reporter asking President Museveni ‘You are talking about AIDS openly, don’t you think that somebody’s going to turn it into a political issue and discredit your Government?’ And he said ‘I don’t care, somebody might; but what I know is that we have a problem, our people are dying, and we want help. Anybody who has any kind of help to help us fight this,’ he says, ‘we need it.’ And for me I really felt proud. This is a man who was so secure and was not about to turn an epidemic into a political thing. The Government was behind anybody who had anything to offer.⁷⁹