Muni University has taken a major step towards expanding specialised healthcare and medical training in the West Nile sub-region following the groundbreaking of a Shs182 billion teaching and research hospital in Arua.
Vice President Jessica Alupo, representing President Yoweri Museveni, officiated at the ceremony on Friday, marking the beginning of construction of the 200-bed facility, which is expected to be completed within 30 months.
The hospital is designed to serve as a tertiary and quaternary referral centre while also functioning as a training ground for students at Muni University’s Medical School.
Unlike a conventional hospital, the facility will bring together healthcare delivery, medical education, scientific research and innovation under one system. Students pursuing the university’s nine health sciences programmes are expected to gain practical experience within the hospital’s wards, theatres and laboratories.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Alupo said the project would significantly strengthen access to specialised healthcare in the region while supporting the university’s expanding academic mandate.
“It will bring services closer to the people. I wish to commend the University for designing an ambitious architectural plan and widening the scope of services it will offer to our people,” Alupo said.
She said the investment could also help reduce the number of Ugandans seeking specialised treatment abroad, a practice that she noted continues to take money out of the country.
According to Alupo, the hospital is expected to develop into a centre of excellence for healthcare, training of health professionals, research and innovation.
She further assured the university and the people of West Nile that government remains committed to funding the construction and equipping of the facility.
The hospital comes at a time when Muni University is expanding its academic and research activities since its establishment as a public university to respond to the development needs of West Nile and contribute to Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.
Alupo pointed to the university’s growing student population, expansion of science, technology, engineering and mathematics programmes, increased research output and community engagement as evidence of its progress.
She particularly cited the university’s Refugee and Host Community Youth Empowerment Initiative (RETI), which focuses on supporting young people in refugee and host communities.
Muni University was also among five African universities recognised as inaugural laureates of the Africa Higher Education for Transformation Prize.
Alupo commended the university’s council, management, staff and students for the progress and thanked residents of West Nile for supporting the institution.
She encouraged parents in the region to consider Muni University for their children, particularly in science and technology-related disciplines.
“Please guide your children to select courses in fields of science and technology to boost their employability in the private sector,” she said.
State Minister for Primary Health Care and Koboko Municipality MP, Dr Charles Ayume, linked the project to wider improvements in the West Nile sub-region.
Ayume highlighted peace and security, electricity connectivity and infrastructure development as some of the factors creating an environment for major public investments such as the teaching hospital.
He challenged the university administration to ensure the new infrastructure is properly managed and put to effective use once completed.
For Muni University Council, the project represents an investment extending beyond the institution itself.
Council Chairman Dr Joel Aita said the hospital would serve patients, train health professionals and contribute to keeping resources that would otherwise be spent seeking treatment outside the country.
“The ground we break today, we break for the sick who will be healed here, for the students who will be trained here, and for the nation whose money and dignity will be kept at home because of what rises here,” Aita said.
The university’s Chancellor and retired Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi, described the project as a foundation for a new chapter in healthcare, education and scientific development.
He expressed appreciation to President Museveni and his government for the investment, saying the facility would offer benefits beyond West Nile.
“Today’s groundbreaking has laid a foundation for healing, teaching, scientific research, innovation, and above all, hope for generations to come. May it serve Uganda, West Nile, and the wider international community,” Orombi said.
Once completed and fully operational, the hospital is expected to become a key component of Muni University’s health sciences training while providing specialised referral services to communities in West Nile and beyond.
