Uganda to partner with GE Healthcare to modernise hospitals

PIC: (From right) President Yoweri Museveni greeting Alexander Oketch, projects development director Eastern Africa in the presence of Kieran Murphy, the global president and  CEO GE Healthcare (left); Farid Fezoua, the president and CEO GE Healthcare Africa (second-right), Chris Bonnett, Africa projects director (fourth right) and Brenda Mbathi, executive director Government affairs (far left) at State House Entebbe yesterday. (COURTESY PHOTOS)

BETTER HEALTHCARE

ENTEBBE- President Yoweri Museveni has requested GE Healthcare (General Electric) to move with speed and conclude discussions with the health and finance ministries regarding the proposed modernisation of hospitals in the Republic of Uganda.

President Museveni made the remarks when he hosted a delegation from GE Healthcare lead by Kieran Murphy, the global president and chief executive officer (CEO) of GE Healthcare yesterday at State House Entebbe.

The President informed Murphy that he expects a comprehensive and sustainable solution. Upon completion of the project, it will help in reducing medical tourism to India and to other countries, while also providing quality healthcare to Ugandans.

The meeting was attended by Farid Fezoua, the president and CEO GE Healthcare Africa; Andrew Waititu, the general manager Eastern Africa; Dr. Henry Mwebesa, the Ag director general of medical service at the ministry of health among others.

Recently, Uganda Government had announced plans to partner with GE healthcare in modernisation of hospitals across the country through supply of robust medical equipment, long term training, servicing the machines over time and also bringing in funding. 

The communication was made by President Yoweri Museveni on his official twitter handle. The President wrote: "On the issue of equipping hospitals with necessary equipment, the Government is going to enter into a partnership with General Electric, an American company that we are dealing with in the oil sector.  It also manufactures medical equipment and will supply these at a lower cost"

In February 2018 during the Joint East African Community (EAC) Heads of State Retreat on infrastructure and health financing and development held at the Speke Munyoyo in Kampala, President Museveni said EAC expects the health sector to contribute more significantly to the economy through creation of jobs, proliferation of innovations, manufacturing of medicines, health technologies and medical tourism.

Regarding the partnership, Murphy said GE Healthcare will work closely with the Government of Uganda to deliver world class services to the citizens of Uganda through provision of robust systems and maintenance of the equipment. He reiterated GE Healthcare commitment in the project and assured the president of a long standing collaboration.

 PIC: President Museveni greets Murphy as Fezoua looks on

General Electric is an American multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. 

It is a leading provider of medical imaging, monitoring, biomanufacturing, cell and gene therapy technologies. GE Healthcare enables precision health in diagnostics, therapeutics and monitoring through intelligent devices, data analytics, applications and services. 

Most recently, in the neighboring country Kenya, GE Healthcare was announced as the key technology partner for wide-scale radiology infrastructure modernisation programme aimed at transforming 98 hospitals across Kenya's 47 counties via comprehensive, wing-to-wing solution package. 

The Managed Equipment Service (MES) programme was part of the Kenyan Government's Ksh38b ($420m) healthcare transformation programme, one of the largest of its kind in Africa to deliver sustainable healthcare development in line with its Vision 2030 Plan. 

The Kenyan MES project demonstrated GE Healthcare's ongoing commitment to serving as a strategic partner to the Government of Kenya and across Africa, supporting sustainable economic growth through infrastructure development, technology transfer, education and capacity building to support a better health system and patient outcomes.

Murphy's visit underlines the fact the Uganda is becoming a destination of choice for investment.

PIC: President Museveni with the GE Healthcare delegates at State House Entebbe