UGANDA – The unicameral Parliament of Uganda has scrutinized and approved a US$70 million loan for the country’s funding plan for a modern facility that will house the Uganda Heart Institute.

The landmark legislative decision follows a loan request brought by government to collectively borrow US$70 million from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, Saudi Fund for Development and the Opec Fund for International Development.

Uganda’s Members of Parliament, through Parliament’s Committee on National Economy, have unanimously approved the loan request that will see the government kickstart the construction and equipping of the Uganda Heart Institute Project.

Furthermore, the Committee on National Economy has outlined a number of recommendations while urging the government to renegotiate the loan terms to ensure flexible payment terms.

Committee Vice Chairperson Hon. Robert Migadde said that challenges facing the Uganda Heart Institute in the execution of its mandate informed the approval of the loan. 

Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) was established as an autonomous body by an Act of Parliament (The Uganda Heart Institute ACT, 2016).

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

The committee has called upon the Ministry of Finance to engage the financiers with a view of improving the financial terms to more concessional or semi concessional terms particularly increasing the repayment period of the BADEA and OPEC proposed loans to 20 years.

In addition, the committee urged government to addresses the immediate constraints such as inadequate medical infrastructure in order to build a strong foundation for the Uganda Heart Institute to become a Centre of Excellence in cardiovascular medical services.

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa asked the Uganda Heart Institute to utilize the loan well and ensure the Centre stands to serve the multitude of patients with heart problems.

“We lose 500 children every year because they have the expertise but they don’t have the facilities to do it; you can save that Ugandan who cannot go to Kenya; the decision is yours,” Thomas Tayebwa added.

The Parliament of Uganda endorsed the loan as a journey to unburden families troubled by health care challenges including addressing the growing statistics of people suffering from non-communicable diseases.

Meanwhile, Members of Parliament on the Committee of Health have promised to lobby government for better health services in the Busoga Sub-region following an incident that highlighted the glaring gaps in the health sector within the region.

Liked this article? Sign up to receive our regular email newsletters, focused on Africa and World’s healthcare industry, directly into your inbox. SUBSCRIBE HERE