The Uganda COVID-19 Response and Emergency Preparedness Project (UCREPP) was conceived by the Government of Uganda (GoU) and the World Bank in 2020 to address the rapid rise in community transmission of COVID-19. This rapid rise necessitated quick access to more funds for response and preparedness activities for a prolonged pandemic.
The UCREPP was approved by the World Bank on July 15, 2020, with initial funding of US$ 15.2 million, of which US$ 2.7 million was availed from the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEFF) Trust Fund and US$ 12.5 million as International Development Agency (IDA) Credit. The PEFF funds became effective on August 31, 2020, received in-country on October 29th, 2020, and expired on March 31st, 2021, with 100% disbursement; while the IDA Credit became effective on August 3, 2021. The above funds were critical for effectively responding to the first and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
The Project Development Objective (PDO) of UCREPP is to prevent, detect and respond to COVID-19 and strengthen national systems for public health emergency preparedness in Uganda.
Initially, UCREPP supported three components namely:
- Component 1 (Case Detection, Confirmation, Contact Tracing, Recording, Reporting);
- Component 2 (Strengthening Case Management and Psychosocial Support); and
- Component 3 (Project Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation).
However, on February 17, 2022, the Government of Uganda (GoU) and the World Bank signed a Financial Agreement for US$ 180.3 in Additional Financing (AF) to UCREPP, bringing the total project cost to US$ 195.5 million. The AF will add two components:
- Component 4 (Vaccine Acquisition and Deployment) and;
- Component 5 (Strengthening Continuity of Essential Health Services).
Additional Financing (AF) became effective on April 27, 2022, and will further strengthen the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular providing US$137 million towards the procurement and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines nationally and ensuring the continuity of essential health services affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda.
