The Government and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) have sealed a deal to construct a sh223b state-of-the-art t heart institute in Kampala.

Finance Minister Matia Kasaija and the director general of BADEA, Dr. Sidi Ould, signed the financing agreement for the construction and equipping of the new Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) on the sidelines of the 58th Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group at Sharm El Sheikh International Conference Centre in Egypt.

Finance ministry spokesperson Jim Mugunga said BADEA will inject $20m (about sh74b) into the $60m (about sh223b) project.

He told New Vision on Saturday that other co-financiers are the Saudi Fund for Development and the OPEC Fund for International Development, which will also provide $20m each.

The new institute will be established on a 10-acre piece of land in Naguru, a Kampala suburb, and will provide cardiovascular care to more than 60,000 patients per year.

The $60m is a loan and will support the UHI by co-financing construction works as well as the purchase of medical and non-medical equipment and furniture.

Dr. Charles Ayume, the chairperson of the parliamentary health committee, said the facility will save them from “medical tourism” abroad.

“But most importantly, any of us can become patients, and so we shall need these services,” he stated.

The current UHI at Mulago National Referral Hospital occupies a single block and operates on about 1000 square meters of land. The management says this space is limiting them from handling the increasing number of patients with heart diseases.

Dr John Omagino, the executive director of UHI, told the Dr. Ayume-led committee on July 13, 2022, that cardiovascular deaths were on the increase, hence the need for improved super-specialized services.

“One in every four adults and an estimated 16,000 children every year has a heart-related disease. Therefore, the demand for cardiovascular care is expected to grow. And out of the 16,000 children with heart-related diseases yearly, 400 stay on a waiting list,” he stated.

He argued that this challenge can be addressed if the new facility is developed. “Worst scenario is when a mother calls at 3:00 am and says the child who has been on that waiting list has passed away,” Omagino told the committee.

He also stated that the UHI can handle only 80 open-heart surgeries yearly, but it is projected that with the new establishment, 500 open-heart surgeries will be handled.