International Specialized Hospital of Uganda

The International Specialized Hospital of Uganda (ISHU) is a much-awaited specialized medical facility that will offer tertiary care medical services in Uganda. The facility is set to be completed in two years’ time, and it is being developed by private investors who will run it for ten years before handing it over to the government of Uganda. The ISHU will be located in Lubowa, Wakiso District, which is approximately 13 kilometers from Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda.

The hospital is designed to offer specialized medical services to patients who would otherwise have to travel out of the country to access such services. The hospital’s development is expected to ease the financial burden on Ugandans who, in 2017, spent an estimated $186 million on medical treatment abroad. The facility will also attract referrals from the African Great Lakes region.

The hospital will comprise nine buildings, including a 260+ bed hospital, an outpatient department, housing for doctors, nurses and support staff, conference facilities, at least one hotel, and a shopping center. The hospital will provide a wide range of medical and surgical services, including organ transplants, neurosurgical operations, various cancers, orthopedic surgery, and cardiac operations and treatments.

To reduce the power purchased from the national grid, the hospital design incorporates solar panels on the roofs of the buildings. The design also includes rain-water harvesting systems to reduce the amount of water purchased from the National Water and Sewerage Corporation.

The Ugandan Cabinet has resolved to ban the use of public funds to treat government officials and politicians at foreign medical facilities once the hospital is completed, saving the government an estimated $7–10 million every year. The Parliament of Uganda has approved a government guarantee of US$379.7 million to construct the hospital, and a consortium comprising Finasi of Italy and ROKO Construction Limited of Uganda will build the facility. Additionally, the hospital will include an 80-bed cancer center.