National Medical Stores (NMS) has on Tuesday promised to furnish Parliament with a comprehensive report entailing funds that have so far been spent on procuring Covid-19 vaccines.
The body’s Stores and Operations Officer Paul Okware disclosed this while meeting legislators on the Health Committee on Tuesday January 11, 2022.
“We will make sure that to this very report, we shall add an annex on details of monies that were made available for the vaccine and the quantities that have been received so far including those funded by Government and donors,” he said.
Okware’s response followed questions raised by MPs including Dr. Lulume Bayiga (Buikwe South) bordering on how an allocation of Shs 80 billion was utilized.
This money was released during the 2020/21 Financial Year for purposes of vaccine procurement and handling vaccine procurement.
“It’s still lying there because in the global market we did not have access to vaccines. I have seen that Uganda has received more donations of vaccines. Where is that money captured?” Bayiga probed.
Whereas Okware had presented a budget summary report, the Committee Chairperson Dr. Charles Ayume advised NMS to furnish the committee with a summary of how these Covid-19 funds were used.
“I think let’s track it because even in the Covid-19 Task Force it was an issue of contention,” Ayume reiterated.
Speaking to journalists later, Okware acknowledged that they indeed received Shs 80 billion in the 2020/21 FY and the money went towards purchasing Johnson and Johnson jabs.
According to the presentation that Minister of Health (MOH) Dr. Ruth Aceng made on Thursday November 4, 2021; Government and partners in the last Financial Year provided funds amounting to Shs 619.5 billion.
The Government and partners have already provided part of the funds amounting to Shs 619.5 billion, as seen in the breakdown below:
A case in point, Aceng revealed that they received Shs 12.8 billion from Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) for vaccine deployment and supplementary funds worth Shs 18.5 billion to procure vaccines.
“Contingency funding from Government of Uganda in Financial Year 2020/2021 for vaccine procurement and operational costs is Shs 30 billion. Allocation to National Medical Stores by Government of Uganda in Financial Year 2020/2021 for vaccines procurement and handling is Shs 80 billion,” she retorted.
“Re-allocation from the item of vaccine co-financing for the traditional vaccines for purchase of syringes for COVID-19 vaccination by Government of Uganda in Financial Year 2020/2021 is Shs 3.9 billion; and the total cost of vaccines, that is the 18 million doses expected
