Makerere University College of Health Sciences has received a high-fidelity simulation center for medical training, positioning itself as a major medical center in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The center, donated by TotalEnergies EP, aims to provide specialized emergency medical skills training to strengthen medical personnel’s ability to respond to health emergencies.
This initiative is part of a collaboration between TotalEnergies and Makerere University. The facility, located at Mulago Hospital, is the second-largest simulation center in Africa after South Africa.
It includes units for emergency, critical care, and surgery training. The center’s importance lies in improving medical preparedness, service delivery, and skills enhancement.
Rosemary Byanyima, the Mulago National Referral Hospital’s Acting Executive Director, called on the oil and gas company and the Ministry of Health to take up the maintenance of the facility as well as equip the personnel who will have been trained at the facility.
She also says the facility has the potential to be a training center for Africa since it is only the second of its kind south of the Sahara, adding that it is now the duty of the authorities to market it.
The center was constructed by local companies in compliance with the national content policy for the oil and gas sector. The facility will be operated by the College of Health Sciences and has the potential to be a training center for Africa.
The partnership is one of several health-related projects by TotalEnergies in Uganda, aligned with international best practices and the company’s commitment to health services enhancement.
The center’s capabilities contribute to Uganda’s ability to handle medical issues and reduce the need for treatment abroad. The addition of this facility complements the existing healthcare infrastructure in Uganda, including theatres for organ transplants, which operate in a way that prevents alleged organ theft.