Uganda martyrs varsity opens medical school

Dr Ruhakana Rugunda. PHOTO BY DOMINIC BUKENYA

KAMPALA

New Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has praised the Ministry of Health for the good work despite public outrage over poor health service delivery in government hospitals.

Dr Rugunda, who has been minister of Health, was appointed Prime Minister on Thursday. It is not yet clear whether he will retain his portfolio of Ministry of Health.

“The Ministry of Health is very important to our country but has a lot of challenges. I would like to salute all medical practitioners because even though they are criticised, they have done a lot. I therefore call upon Ugandans to support them in improving the quality of their work,” Dr Rugunda said at the inauguration ceremony of Uganda Martyrs University’s Mother Kevin Post Graduate Medical School in Nsambya, Kampala.

Dr Rugunda said Parliament is drafting a national health insurance policy which will benefit all Ugandans. He applauded the founders of Mother Kevin Post Graduate Medical School, saying health and education are some of the most important social aspects in a country.

“When you see private institutions engage in the two most important social aspects in a country, they are helping to do the work government is supposed to be doing, which is a good thing,” he added.

The Italian ambassador to Uganda, Mr Stephan Dejak, thanked the Uganda government for its quick response to the Ebola epidemic which hit the country in 2002 and 2012.