Dear Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda:

RE: Deliver maternal health care, family planning, HIV and other essential health services for all during the fight against COVID-19

We are grateful for the commitment and seriousness with which the Government of Uganda is managing the COVID-19 pandemic. We commend the leadership of Hon Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng and the entire team at the Ministry of Health for the efforts undertaken to ensure that people who have tested positive with COVID-19 receive necessary treatment as well as prevention for further spread. We applaud all the health workers at the frontline, ensuring that lives are saved, despite the challenges and limitations they are faced with.

As civil society organisations under the Coalition to Stop Maternal Mortality in Uganda, we are ready to support the Government in addressing the COVID-19 problem, in any way possible. We are appealing to Government to ensure that health services for all other conditions continue to be provided and easily accessible, including, but not limited to: antenatal care visits and deliveries, accidents, dialysis, pressure, heart failure, cancer, ART refills, immunizations, blood transfusion, sickle cell disease crises et cetera. This will ensure that the Government continues to meet its obligation of preserving fundamental health rights during this period when the most vulnerable Ugandans are struggling to get their urgent health needs addressed without any safety net or social protection.