Construction of new structures at Rubanda Hospital in Rubanda District has reached 70 per cent completion, according to district health authorities. The 18.5 billion Shilling project started in 2025 after Muko Health Centre IV in Rubanda Town Council was upgraded to hospital status. The project includes two fully equipped theatres, four patient wards, a mortuary and six-storey blocks to accommodate medical personnel.
Dr David Mporampora, the Rubanda District Health Officer, says the project, being implemented by the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) Engineering Brigade, is now in its fourth phase. He adds that roofing of the structures has been completed, while workers and engineers are currently undertaking electrical wiring and plumbing installations.
He says the fifth phase will involve finishing works to prepare the facility to begin offering services. Although the project was initially delayed before the UPDF Engineering Brigade took over construction, Mporampora says he is optimistic that the works will be completed within the next six to eight months. He says district authorities are satisfied with the quality of the work.
Dr Abdon Birungi, the Rubanda Hospital Director, says the facility, when it was still Muko Health Centre IV, handled more than 120 deliveries every month, about 40 of which required caesarean sections.
Birungi says the number of deliveries is expected to double once the new structures are completed, as the upgraded hospital will be able to provide a wider range of health services.
Stephen Ampeire Kasyaba, the Rubanda District Chairman, says the project would have been completed by now if the UPDF Engineering Brigade had started work immediately after receiving payment.
Kasyaba says the 18.5 billion shillings allocated to the project is specifically for the construction of the hospital structures. He says the district has already received medical equipment worth 1.2 billion shillings from the Ministry of Health, together with a storage container.
The equipment, received in June 2026, includes four baby incubators, blood pressure machines, bedside lockers, 10 digital adult blood pressure machines and 10 digital infant blood pressure machines, among other items.
Kasyaba says district leaders agreed to deploy the equipment in existing health facilities as they wait for completion of the new hospital structures. He says the equipment will later be transferred and installed at Rubanda Hospital once construction is complete.
Kasyaba says the equipment was secured after district leaders anticipated that construction would have been completed by now, allowing it to be installed at the hospital. He adds that efforts are also underway to secure a new ambulance for the district hospital and recruit additional health workers to strengthen service delivery.
The development is part of a government policy to upgrade selected Health Centre IVs into community hospitals. According to the Ministry of Health Draft National Health Policy 2024, the government introduced a reform to upgrade selected Health Centre IVs with a 24-bed capacity into community hospitals with a 60-bed capacity.
The policy is being implemented in phases, prioritising Health Centre IVs serving large catchment populations and 135 constituencies without Health Centre IVs the selection is based on geographical access, population coverage and availability of resources. The construction of community hospitals is intended to reduce the high costs associated with establishing a general hospital in each of the 82 districts that currently do not have one. -URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
