KAMPALA, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The Ugandan parliament on Tuesday approved a budget of 284 billion shillings (about 75.2 million U.S. dollars) to support the government's efforts in combating COVID-19.
The lawmakers allocated the Ministry of Health 104 billion shillings (about 27.5 million dollars) for the recruitment of additional health workers, and procurement of protective gear, test kits and intensive care beds, among others.
The security sector, which includes police, military, prisons, immigration and intelligence services, was allocated 77 billion shillings (about 20.4 million dollars) for the enforcement of control measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Ministry of Disaster Preparedness received 59 billion shillings (about 15.6 million dollars) to provide food for 2 million vulnerable people in urban centers for 30 days.
The rest of the allocation went to local governments, the Kampala Capital City Authority, and the Ministry of Information Communication Technology, among others.
The parliament urged the government to mobilize more donations from development partners, private sectors and other well-wishers.
Uganda currently has 52 confirmed cases of COVID-19, but the government fears that more cases may arise since some of the confirmed cases have interacted with the public before they were isolated.
