Uganda Pharmacists Press the State to Bankroll Home-Grown Medicines
UGANDA · HEALTH
Key Facts
- —The country Uganda has built a small pharmaceutical industry and now buys most state medicines from local makers.
- —What happened The Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda asked government for a dedicated research and innovation fund.
- —Who said it Dr Steven Rutoti, the society’s secretary general, made the call in Kampala on 24 September 2026.
- —The other asks Equipment, land, tax incentives and support for raw materials were also on the list.
- —The catch No fund has been announced, and none was promised at the meeting.
Uganda pharmacists want public money for research, at a moment when the state already buys most of its medicines locally.
Uganda pharmacists have asked the government to create a dedicated fund for pharmaceutical research and manufacturing. The request was made at their annual professional meeting in Kampala on 24 September 2026.
What the Uganda pharmacists asked for
The Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda held its annual continuing professional development meeting in Kampala. The date was 24 September 2026.
Dr Steven Rutoti, the society’s secretary general, asked government to create a dedicated fund. It would support pharmaceutical research, innovation and local manufacturing.
The society also asked for equipment, land, tax incentives and help securing raw materials. Those are the standard constraints on small-scale drug production.
Dr Jonans Tusiimire, the society’s president, added a regional proposal. He called for a College of Pharmacists covering the wider region.
The state is already the industry’s main customer
The request lands in a market that has already shifted. Government procurement of medicines from local manufacturers has risen sharply.
It stood at about 5 percent in 2015. By the 2024 and 2025 financial year it was 60 percent, and 64 percent by March 2026.
The local manufacturers’ association represents more than 20 firms. It puts their combined investment above US$500 million and direct jobs above 5,000.
Its current ask is procurement rather than research. It wants the domestic purchase list widened from 37 molecules to at least 100.
Why research funding is a separate problem
Buying local medicines and inventing them are different activities. Procurement builds factories; research builds products.
Uganda’s pharmaceutical output is concentrated in generics and formulations. Original development needs laboratory capacity that procurement does not pay for.
The society’s case is that no institution currently funds that gap. A dedicated fund would sit between the universities and the factories.
Nothing has been announced. The request is a position, not a policy.
That distinction matters for anyone reading the coverage. A call for a fund is not the creation of one.
What exists on the ground
The state has built a biosciences park at Katuugo, in Nakasongola district. It covers about 150 acres.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja launched it. It is intended to host laboratories and small manufacturing rather than large plants.
Uganda also ran a World Bank-supported Millennium Science Initiative worth about US$30 million. That programme closed years ago.
The national pharmaceutical strategy backs local production. It is aligned to the Buy Uganda Build Uganda policy.
So the framework exists on paper. What the society says is missing is money for the research end.
The minister’s answer, and the local knowledge argument
Uganda’s science minister, Eng Jonard Asiimwe, addressed the same meeting. He framed the field as changing fast.
“Genomics, artificial intelligence, advanced biologics, and real-world data are shaping medicine,” he said. He did not announce a fund.
He also made a case for traditional knowledge. “Our ancestors did not have chromatography, but some of their repeated observations captured real biological variation.”
Research presented at the meeting documented 71 medicinal plant species in Oyam district. They are used to treat 41 health conditions.
That is the kind of work a fund would pay to test. Documenting a plant is cheap, and proving it works is not.
What this means for patients and investors
For patients, nothing changes immediately. A research fund would take years to reach a pharmacy shelf.
For investors, the signal is about policy direction. A government already buying two thirds of its medicines locally has reason to fund the next step.
For the industry, the near-term prize is the procurement list. Widening it from 37 molecules would move revenue faster than any research fund.
The society’s own progress is incremental. Tusiimire said work on pharmaceutical-grade microcrystalline cellulose has secured 65 percent of the funding it needs.
What is not yet known
No size, source or timetable for the proposed fund has been given. Nor has government responded formally.
It is unclear whether the procurement list will be widened. That decision sits with the health ministry.
The society’s own membership figures and the industry’s current output were not published at the meeting. Independent data on both is thin.
Whether a research fund would reach small firms or large ones is also unstated. That detail usually decides who benefits.
FAQ
What did Uganda’s pharmacists ask for?
A dedicated government fund for pharmaceutical research, innovation and local manufacturing. They also asked for equipment, land, tax incentives and raw-material support.
Who made the request?
Dr Steven Rutoti, secretary general of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda. He spoke at the society’s annual meeting in Kampala on 24 September 2026.
Does Uganda already buy local medicines?
Yes. Government procurement from local manufacturers rose from about 5 percent in 2015 to 64 percent by March 2026.
Has a fund been created?
No. Nothing was announced at the meeting, and government has not responded formally to the request.
Sources: Daily Monitor and KFM reports on the Kampala meeting, 25 September 2026; Uganda Ministry of Science on the biosciences park; UBC on local procurement.
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