A third Aga Khan University Hospital in the world is taking shape in Kampala with the granting of land and an initiation ceremony this week.

The Aga Khan and President Yoweri Museveni are expected to preside as the new hospital’s plan comes alive, part of a bold 15-year $1 billion expansion agenda that the Aga Khan University has committed to for East Africa.

Aga Khan University (AKU) president Firoz Rasul says that like their hospitals in Nairobi and in Karachi, Pakistan, both of which have earned accreditation from the US-based Joint Commission International, the hospital in Kampala will seek to provide treatment and care equal to the best in the world.

Its first phase, comprising the establishment of a 150-bed tertiary hospital, will be completed in 2020 before later expanding progressively towards 600 beds. The hospital will be located at the junction of Jinja Road and New Port Bell Road in the heart of Kampala.

The Aga Khan, Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), arrived in Nairobi on Friday as a guest during Kenya’s Independence Day (Jamhuri) celebrations on December 12, and will travel to Uganda next week.

AKU’s bold expansion in East Africa is informed by a core framework focused on developing leaders and establishing international professional standards, amongst others. The plan will see it also establish a major campus in Arusha.

With the Kampala hospital, it is working to provide advanced types of care and be capable of diagnosing and treating the most complicated cases. It will include specialities in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, cancer, women and child health, stem cell and regenerative medicine, neurology and minimally invasive surgery, with the latest medical equipment such as MRI and CT scanners and nuclear medicine.

“We will ensure that Ugandans have access to world-class care when they need it and where they need it. No longer will Ugandans need to leave the country to receive high quality health care,” said Mr Rasul.

The university will use the hospital to educate and train doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals who are equipped not only to provide excellent care but to lead and transform health care institutions and systems to make them work more effectively for the people they serve.

A postgraduate Medical Education programme will train badly needed specialist doctors in a range of fields.

In addition, by providing a working environment that meets the highest standards, the hospital hopes to attract Ugandan health professionals working abroad to return home, while retaining new graduates who might otherwise have left.

A welfare programme funded by the university and philanthropists will help patients who cannot afford the charges to get treatment.

Research will be aimed at improving health care quality and access in Uganda, meeting the challenge of pressing health problems such as the growth of non-communicable diseases and producing actionable insights into such issues as the relationship between health and poverty, culture and the environment.

AKU is working to add new campuses and facilities in Nairobi, Kampala, Arusha and Dar es Salaam, transforming it from a university focused on the health sciences and education into a comprehensive university featuring an undergraduate liberal arts programme and graduate professional education. The Graduate School of Media and Communications was recently launched in Nairobi.

Institutions of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) have been at the helm of economic and social development in East Africa for nearly a century now, working towards improving the quality of life though multiple cross-sectoral initiatives.

“Today, the world debates East Africa’s problems. Tomorrow, with the right educational investments, we believe it will study the region’s solutions. Most academic institutions are looking to produce job-ready graduates. We want graduates who create jobs,” said Mr Rasul.