The construction of the Aga Khan University Center (AKU) Student Residences which will see a transformation in the education and health sectors in Uganda and the East African region, has started.
The AKU is to set up a 600-bed world-class teaching hospital in Uganda where patients will have easy access to specialized healthcare services.
The state-of-the-art facility will consist of a medical education block and housing facilities and will provide advanced forms of specialist treatment and care.
Rashid Khalani, Chief Executive Officer of Aga Khan University Hospital, speaking during an interview with the reporters at the Nakawa Campus on Port Bell Road in Kampala, said that the center is going to open an unmatched opportunity for Ugandans to access world-class medical and nursing services when they need them and where they need them.
“The new facility is going to reduce the need for Ugandans to travel abroad to seek treatment. The result of this is an economic and social benefit for patients in Uganda and across the region,” Khalani said.
Karim Sayani, Global Director, Communication, of Aga Khan University, explained an artistic impression to the local reporters of what the hospital will look like at the Nakawa campus on Port Bell Road in Kampala.
According to reports, Uganda spends about Sh204b (US $76m), with at least Sh5.8b (US $2.2m) spent on the treatment of mostly public servants abroad. The Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi has been receiving patients from Uganda over the last few years for the treatment of various complex diseases, especially in the areas of cancer, heart diseases, brain tumors, and neurosurgeons.
It has been nearly eight years since President Museveni and His Highness the Aga Khan laid a brick at the site in Nakawa, Kampala, to symbolize the laying of the foundation stone for the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKU) in December 2015, and locals are excited about the project finally getting underway.