I am deeply grateful to President Yoweri Museveni’s government for its steadfast commitment to vaccinating Ugandans, a lifeline that has reshaped our nation’s future. Through tireless immunization drives, we’ve extended life expectancy to nearly 68 years, empowered a more productive workforce, and given families hope. Child mortality has plummeted from 90 to 52 per 1,000 births since 2011, thanks to vaccines like rotavirus that halved diarrhea deaths. Maternal mortality has also dropped significantly, a testament to a health system saving lives. As someone wisely said, a nation’s health is judged by its child and maternal death rates—ours tell a story of hard-won progress. I am horrified by a policy threatening to unravel these gains: the 2.5% Value Added Tax (VAT) on medical supplies, including childhood vaccines, imposed on July 1, 2025. This tax is choking our vaccine supply, and the National Medical Stores (NMS) warns of a catastrophic shortage by next week. Honorable MPs, why tax the drugs keeping our children alive? This isn’t policy—it’s a death sentence for our most vulnerable.
In Kassanda where I work, I’ve watched mothers trek miles for a single shot to shield their babies from deadly diseases. Now, I dread the day they face empty clinics. On September 30, 2025, NMS General Manager Moses Kamabare told Parliament’s Health Committee that billions in tax arrears have trapped vaccines in warehouses since July, stalled by disputes between the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and National Drug Authority (NDA). Without these vaccines, diseases like measles, killing 140,000 children globally each year, or polio, which cripples, will surge. Pneumonia, claiming 700,000 young lives annually, and Hib infections causing brain damage could overwhelm our fragile health system. A shortage could spike child mortality by 27% for unvaccinated kids, erasing decades of progress. In rural areas like mine, where poverty and poor roads already claim lives, this tax could fill graves with children who should be playing, learning, living.
Why betray our health gains by taxing medicines we import entirely? Uganda exempts agricultural inputs—seeds, fertilizers, tractors—to feed our 70% agrarian population, fueling food security. Tourism enjoys VAT breaks to attract jobs and dollars. If we prioritize crops and hotels, why not vaccines that prevent tiny coffins? Past tax frameworks zero-rated drugs, but the 2025 amendments have mired medical imports in red tape, with URA, NDA, and Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) delaying even gloves and sutures. This isn’t bureaucracy—it’s a betrayal of every mother I’ve seen cradle a sick child, praying for a cure we’re now taxing.
Some argue the tax is a fiscal necessity for the 2025/2026 budget. But targeting health is reckless. Past shortages, like BCG gaps, fueled surges in diseases like TB meningitis and eroded public trust. Kamabare’s call for a streamlined clearance framework and Shs100 million fines for pilferage is critical, but the tax must be scrapped first. Taxing vaccines isn’t revenue—it’s gambling with lives.
I stand with MPs like Hon. George Bhoka and Hon. Isaac Otimigiw, urging the finance minister to act today. Reverse this tax, align health exemptions with agriculture and tourism. Our post-pandemic recovery hinges on healthy children, not revenue from their suffering. We should not bury any Ugandan over preventable diseases—I beg you, don’t let this tax bury anyone.
And to every Ugandan: join the ongoing mass vaccination campaign against yellow fever, a killer that can claim lives in days. Rush to health centers, protect your families, and demand an end to this deadly tax. Our children’s lives hang in the balance—act now, vaccinate, and save them.
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The Writer is a Veteran Journalist. Reach him via email; kampalaplanet@gmail.com
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