Overview
Uganda’s health system includes both private and government funded facilities. The government regulates operations of all healthcare facilities. Private companies invest in hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies. There is no national health insurance coverage; however, insurance companies provide private health insurance. Health insurance coverage is low, with coverage rates estimated at approximately 5% and with the insurance sector comprising under 0.5% of GDP. Several hospitals run their own health insurance schemes. Uganda’s medical facilities attract U.S. investors, especially in private medical care and oncology. Although the Ugandan government spent 7.6% of the 2025/26 national budget on public healthcare, the sector faces funding gaps due to donor funding reductions. Increasingly, the government is considering public-private-partnerships for healthcare investment, in which the government contributes land, and private investors build and operate a facility. Uganda imports at least 70% of medicines and pharmaceutical products, although local production is growing with the manufacturing of antiretrovirals, antimalarials, and basic antibiotics. Uganda has 25 sites licensed for the manufacture of medicines and health supplies, although only 13 of these are involved in commercial production of pharmaceuticals. The Uganda Virus Research Institute, a government research institute, is a World Health Organization certified yellow fever regional reference lab - the only certified yellow fever reference laboratory in Eastern Africa.
Challenges to developing the sector include the following:
Technology, machinery, and the associated high-skilled expertise are sourced from outside Uganda.
Uganda’s pharmaceutical sector depends on importing active pharmaceutical ingredients and almost all excipients and some packaging materials.
Few Ugandan pharmaceutical manufacturers have automated production processes.
High operating costs for manufacturers who rely on backup generators.
Few licensed cold and dry storage facilities hold active pharmaceutical ingredients prior to final production.
Limited capacity and infrastructure exist for regulation and quality control.
Opportunities
Equipment: Demand for medical equipment continues to rise, including record management equipment and systems, ultrasound, electrocardiographs, obstetric dopplers, pulse oximeters, ventilators, cardiac echo machines, treadmill stress machines, and lab equipment including equipment needed for microbiology, hematology, chemistry, and histopathology.
Generic pharmaceutical manufacturing: Uganda still imports approximately 70% of its essential medicines and health supplies. Based on Uganda’s strong demand for medical services and the government’s favorable tax policies for manufacturing facilities, manufacturing generic pharmaceuticals remains a potentially profitable opportunity for investors.