UPDF national referral hospital board completes governance retreat

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs (MODVA) Rosette Byengoma, closed a three-day retreat for board members and experts of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) National Referral Hospital (NRH) at Serena – Kigo in Wakiso district.

The retreat, held from 25 to 27 May 2026, was convened under the theme: “Establishing a solid governance and management framework for efficient and sustainable service delivery at the UPDF NRH”.

Byengoma commended the board and management of the UPDF NRH for organising the retreat, saying it had enabled participants to “review and consolidate the governance framework and mechanisms intended to oversee and guide the successful operations of UPDF NRH”.

She described the retreat as “yet another milestone towards the evolution of the hospital as the state-of-the-art medical facility envisioned by its founders”.

On the hospital’s expansion, Byengoma said the additional block (E), which has not yet started, for oncology and cardiology in the medium term, when funds allow, will achieve the ultimate goal.

As key stakeholders, she said the ministry was working to align the governance of the UPDF NRH with “universal best practices of the hospital at all levels of care”.

Key outcomes expected from the retreat, she said, included “a strengthened governance and accountability framework and an agreed implementation framework with a view of the impending roadmap impeding the commissioning of the hospital’s cancer services”.

She stressed that the ministry intended the hospital to operate “along the lines of a company limited by guarantee, with considerable levels of autonomy to allow flexibility and expedience in decision-making in the day-to-day operations of the hospital”, adding that consultations were underway with the Accountant General in that regard.

“The expectation of the leadership remains a challenge,” she said, further saying “I call upon you that the retreat should renew your commitment to achieving key milestones and cause you all to ‘hit the ground running’ after the retreat.”

The PS urged the Board to “hit the ground running” as the hospital prepares for commissioning.

The PS also urged the board and management not to treat the policies approved at the retreat as “simply regulatory checklists”.

“They define the foundation and standards that will ensure strategic oversight and alignment of practice with global healthcare trends, and will hold leadership accountable.

“The policies are living documents; they will require annual audits to ensure that they remain relevant, effective and applicable to the institution’s growth,” she said.

“Once you have done what is necessary, you are expected to ensure the highest quality of care to the clients.”

Prof Francis Omaswa, chairman of the board of directors of the NRH, said that over the three days the board had reviewed the governance manual, hospital strategic plan, human resource manual, business plan, procurement and disposal manual, and the financial manual.

“These documents will be integrated and will be ready for final approval in the next board meeting in a few weeks’ time and can be used by the staff for the governance of the hospital,” he said.

He said the main objective had been to go through the five governance manuals “virtually word by word”, noting that areas for improvement had been identified. The mission, vision and core values had been integrated and would appear consistently across all manuals.

“The institution needs to be very well governed and ranked to the highest international standards,” Prof Omaswa said.

“It will be one of the best hospitals in Uganda and particularly the African region and internationally, hoping to be accredited at international level to receive both local and international patients and ready to compete with other hospitals in the country and Africa at large.”

Col Dr Ronald Nangamba, chief executive officer of the UPDF National Referral Hospital, said human resources were “a very key and critical pillar in a healthy organisation”.

He said recruitment was underway, beginning with planning around the facility’s scale and scope of services to determine the range of personnel required.

The retreat, he said, had focused on developing governance and management policies and procedures to “attract and motivate them in order to be able to retain them and to be able to get the best outputs out of them”.

Col Dr Nangamba thanked the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs and UPDF leadership “for considering health as the first priority” and pledged that the hospital would become “one of the best hospitals in the country”.

The UPDF NRH in Mbuya was established as the apex facility of the UPDF Health Services to provide specialised care for troops, their families, veterans and the wider public as a national asset.