Naguru Hospital, officially known as China-Uganda Friendship Hospital Naguru (CUFH-N), is struggling with funding difficulties attributed to its controversial name, according to the Director of the hospital, Dr. Emmanuel Tugaineyo. He expressed concern that the inclusion of “China” in the hospital’s name has hindered financial support from Western donors, despite the fact that the Chinese Government primarily supplies the hospital with acupuncture needles and gloves.
Dr. Tugaineyo disclosed this information while appearing before the Parliament’s Health Committee on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, to defend the budget estimates for the fiscal year 2024/25. He emphasized that the hospital’s nomenclature has created a barrier to securing funding from major financial partners in the West, as they prefer not to associate their contributions with anything related to China.
China-Uganda Friendship Hospital Naguru, a facility donated by the Government of the People’s Republic of China, was completed and handed over to the Government of Uganda on January 6, 2012. The hospital was established to alleviate the congestion at Mulago National Referral Hospital, the sole general public hospital in Uganda.
