Uganda Secures Shs74 Billion Loan to Boost Uganda Heart Institute Operations 

Uganda brought in a $20 million (about Shs74 billion) loan from the OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) to augment served delivery at the Uganda Heart Institute, which is located in Kampala.

The government plans to inject $73 million into improving the institute and the rest of the funds will come from the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), and the government of Uganda itself.

Once the development is done, the Uganda Heart Institute will be able to serve the entire population that stands at over 45 million people.

"The new facility will offer specialized heart treatment services and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of cardiovascular care," reads a statement from OPEC.

''Access to efficient and modern healthcare directly affects quality of life and socio-economic well-being. The new Uganda Heart Institute will provide a large capacity cardiovascular care facility with state-of-the-art equipment and essential supplies for the entire Ugandan population,'' said Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, Director-General, OPEC Fund, according to the statement.

The new development is expected to increase access to cardiovascular services from 12,000 patients currently to over 60,000 patients per year.

According to the World Health Organization, 10 percent of the total annual deaths in Uganda from major non-communicable diseases are attributed to heart disease. 

The OPEC Fund has partnered with Uganda since 1976, supporting development projects in financial, transportation, energy, agriculture and health sectors.