Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Health Uganda
diligence reports, detailed engineering and design reports. Even in more developed African countries the line ministries don’t necessarily have all technical expertise in-house. So it has to be outsourced – but then you need the financial resources to recruit those specialists.” The OPEC Fund recognizes the importance of building countries’ capacity for these crucial planning stages – it has recently introduced a new technical assistance grant facility for financing and recruiting consultants to prepare technical documents. Equally, during project implementation, the capacity of the executing agencies
and the local skills base are paramount to its success – something the organization is also committed to developing. One country currently strengthening its healthcare sector is Uganda. The OPEC Fund – co-financing with the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the Saudi Fund for Development and the national government – contributed to a US$41 million project for the renovation and upgrade of two hospitals in the Yumbe and Kayanga provinces. Once fully in operation during the first quarter of 2022, the project will be a game-changer in the quality of medical
services and facilities provided, as well as opening up wider access to the 950,000 inhabitants of these largely rural areas, addressing a long-standing problem in most African countries. The development of a specialized cardiovascular care facility in Uganda has been identified as a top priority in the country’s national healthcare plan. This has led to the recent approval of the Uganda Heart Institute, a US$73 million hospital project in the capital Kampala, to be financed by the same parties. The OPEC Fund responded by fast-tracking the project and the new hospital is expected to be operational by 2025.
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The funding in Uganda will improve access to medical services and facilities for 950,000 inhabitants
If you have to put most of your resources into fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, then you may be forced to neglect the standard healthcare that people also need.
Sharagim Shams, OPEC Fund Senior Country Manager for Eastern and Southern Africa, Public Sector Operations
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