School of Medicine at Uganda Christian University (East Africa)

Uganda Christian University (UCU), a faith-based Anglican institution, was founded in 1997 on the Mukono campus of Bishop Tucker Theological College, which was established in 1913 by British missionaries. UCU was granted a charter (full accreditation) from the government of Uganda in 2004, the first private university in Uganda to receive full accreditation. It currently has seven academic faculties: theology, social science, education/arts, business, law, science and tech, and health sciences. Health sciences education and training commenced at UCU in 2006 with a nursing sciences bachelor’s program, and the department now includes master’s programs in nursing sciences, public health, and leadership. Currently, UCU has five campuses with a total of 14,000 students from 14 African nations.
The UCU School of Medicine (SOM) was launched at the Kampala campus in September 2018 with a five-year program. This year, the inaugural graduating class included 50 medical doctors and 10 dentists. To put that in perspective, Uganda––with a population of about 50 million––has approximately 2000 doctors and 500 dentists. That’s one doctor for every 25,000 people. Due to this urgent need and God’s strong leading, UCU is developing a plan to expand the medical school in order to train an additional 100-150 doctors. This idea is in the preliminary stage of development. The plan is to build a new medical building on the main campus in Mukono to provide the needed classrooms and labs, as well as to provide a new health clinic for students, faculty, staff, and the local Mukono community.
The UCU SOM currently collaborates with Uganda’s leading urban Mengo hospital (founded by the Anglican Church in 1897), the first teaching hospital in East Africa. Both are leading faith-based institutions. Mengo Hospital in Kampala is an urban acute care hospital offering best-in-class dental care and comprehensive preventive and curative medical services with 350 beds and 200 outpatient visits daily. With God’s leading, UCU endeavors to expand upon earlier visions, offering up-to-date training and care to Ugandan citizens.
What is the medical need in Uganda?
Uganda and the rest of East Africa have some of the world’s toughest health conditions. Yet there are not enough doctors and dentists to provide care for those in need. For example:
- 30 out of every 1,000 mothers will die around childbirth.
- 64 out of every 1,000 children die before age five, mostly from preventable causes.
- 30 percent of children have malaria, which is the leading cause of premature death in Uganda.
- Half the population has had oral health problems in the past six months, yet only 35% of those received any form of treatment.
Access to doctors would make a profound difference:
The leading causes of premature death in Uganda are all treatable by competent physicians: HIV/AIDS, malaria, lower respiratory infections, meningitis, tuberculosis, preterm birth complications and neonatal encephalopathy, neonatal infection, diarrheal diseases, and malnutrition.
- Traumatic injuries from road accidents, fires, and falls, when added together, would be the third leading cause of premature death.
- The leading causes of disability are skin diseases, anemia, and depression—all treatable by competent physicians.
- Access to dental care would also improve health and welfare:
- Dental problems affect the ability to eat and so impact energy level, concentration, and children’s growth.
- Untreated dental problems increase the risk for: pneumonia, ulcers, diabetes, infections of the heart and other organs, preterm and low-birth-weight babies, and gastrointestinal and pancreatic cancers.
UCU President coming to Charleston in February 2025
The Uganda Christian University Partners Board will meet in Charleston in February 2025. Vice Chancellor (UCU president) Dr. Aaron Mushengyezi will be attending. We hope many St. Philippians, particularly our medical professionals, can meet the VC during his visit. We plan to host a dinner in Charleston at that time and invite all interested people. Please let me know via email (thomaswgurley@gmail.com) of your interest in this opportunity.
Dr. Aaron Mushengyezi at Uganda’s International Labor Day celebration on May 1, 2024, during which he was awarded the Diamond Jubilee Medal, which is given for remarkable achievements in leadership in public and private sectors.
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