CHAPTER 4
REHABILITATION AND EXPANSION OF YUMBE AND KAYUNGA HOSPITALS IN UGANDA
At the project’s inception, the Republic of Uganda faced challenges in providing adequate health services, especially in rural areas, where 50 percent of the population lacked suf- ficient access to healthcare due to limited funding for health
through the rehabilitation and expansion of the two hospi- tals to Referral Hospital standards and the construction of housing facilities for employees. The two hospitals were con- sidered a priority in the Government’s program for the pro-
facilities construction and equipment. To ad- dress these issues, a national plan to improve health services included the rehabilitation of hospitals built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Yumbe and Kayunga hospitals both suffered from serious infrastructure issues, such as leaky roofs, poor sanitation, faulty electrical connections, poor state of housing for workers, and a lack of water and electricity,
vision of health services in rural and semi-rural areas with high incidences of malaria, respira- tory and intestinal infections, anemia and HIV, among other diseases and health issues. The project significantly improved both hos- pitals, in that it rehabilitated and remodeled existing wards and medical buildings and con- structed new hospital complexes for services
affecting their capacity to provide healthcare efficiently. The rehabilitation and improvement of the two medical centers was therefore prioritized for support by the OPEC Fund, BADEA, and the Saudi Fund for Development. In 2013, the OPEC Fund approved a US$15 million loan to the Ugandan government to support the rehabilitation and expansion of Yumbe and Kayunga hospitals. The project’s primary objective was to contribute to the delivery of the Uganda National Minimum Health Care Package (UNMHCP)
such as accident and emergency care, radiology, laboratory, maternity wards and operation theaters. The rehabilitation and construction activities increase the number of available patient beds from 100 to 197 for Kayunga hospital and from 100 to 214 for Yumbe hospital, far exceeding the target of 150 beds for each, The project also rehabilitated and con- structed staff housing, thereby increasing the number of quality staff housing units from 79 to 237 between the two hospitals. Furthermore, the projects renewed and upgraded the hospitals’ water supply, drainage and sewage systems.
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