Uganda - Covid-19 Crisis Response Budget Support Program (CRSP)

The COVID-19 Crisis Response Support Program (CRSP) to Uganda is designed as budget support within the framework of the Bank Group’s COVID-19 Crisis Response Facility. Uganda confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on 21 March 2020. This number had increased to 1,075 confirmed cases on July 22. The country’s overburdened health system does not have adequate resources to face this health emergency. Uganda is currently facing an additional challenge of a deadly invasion of desert locusts, which is posing a threat to food security and exacerbating the country’s vulnerability during this pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the Ugandan economy hard, both directly and indirectly, through global, regional and domestic transmission channels, with the hospitality, tourism, trading and manufacturing industries particularly badly affected. The Government has responded to the crisis with a broad financial package aimed at tackling the COVID-19 health emergency and supporting economic activity. It allocated resources to the health sector, expand social safety net programs, and provide targeted support to the impacted economic sectors. The program, which results from a request of the Government dated April 9th, 2020, was appraised on 15-30 April 2020, and will be applied for a period of one year (2020/2021). Bank support, estimated at UA 23 million, will provide financing to the budget for targeted spending, aimed at containing and mitigating the health and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.