Bwizibwera Maternal and Child Health Unit now looks better after months of refurbishment sponsored by the Bank of Uganda (BoU). The refurbishment is part of BoU’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme that has a series of activities ongoing to mark 50 years of the existence of central bank.

Apart from the intervention in the health sector, BoU’s CSR activities also include planting of trees in the urban centres that host our upcountry offices as a contribution to operationalising the Uganda Green Growth Development Strategy (UGGDS).

The aim of the CSR event was to raise funds for maternal and child health care in Mbarara, Mbale, Arua and Gulu where the Bank has presence.

Speaking at the function deputy governor, Dr. Louis Kasekende, said Bwizibwera Health Centre IV was identified as the beneficiary to the Bank’s donation after consultation with Mbarara District Officials.

“We chose the health sector because it would benefit a large segment of the population and mirror the BoU’s national character and also because of the undeniable impact that improved health has on the growth of our country through improved labour productivity,” he said.

He said better health through easier access to quality health care can reduce the disease burden and the associated costs thereby allowing more time for households to attend to economic activities, earn more and perhaps save and invest more.

“Various empirical research studies have found that health expenditures and health outcomes have significant impact on growth and incomes per capita, either directly or indirectly.”

He handed over the equipment to the rehabilitated Bwizibwera Maternal and Child Health Unit to the district leadership and the community. The donation includes medical equipment , water harvest system, solar system and outdoor bathrooms and toilet, among others.

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In the highly demanding, ever-changing and uncertain world, a young adult needs certain kinds of survival skills outside of the traditional protected academic and home environments. That is why Victoria University in a bid to open up the university to the general public has added the accredited programs in the logistics and transport sector which was launched on May 23, 2019 at Kabira Country Club.

Victory University did that in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) in the UK, a membership organization for professionals involved in the movement of goods and people and their associated supply chains. It was first established in 1919 and registered as a charity organization and part of the CILT international family with over 33,000 members in countries across the world.

Members of the Institute are involved in the management and design of infrastructure, systems, processes and information flows and in the creation, management and development of effective organisations. The work of our members impacts directly on people, society and the environment, on business profitability and economic growth.

Assoc. Prof Krishna N. Sharma is a well know youngest Vice Chancellor of Victoria University Kampala –Uganda said his happy to run the professional programs under Logistics and transport at Victoria University and applauds the Dean of Business and Management for initiating this idea and bringing on board as partner like the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport to run these accredited programs.

The accredited programs are designed by CILT to thoroughly equip participants with ‘street-smart’ tools and skills preparing them to effectively transition from a student mindset to a creative, problem solving and value adding young adult, ready to step into the Logistics and Transport world with enthusiasm, hope and a clear purpose.

Mr. Geoffrey Etyang the Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport –Uganda chapter said, “Victoria University is the 2nd university besides UMI to run these accredited programs and the first to run the Advanced Diploma in Logistics and Transport.”

Ms. Faridah Ashaba, Founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Bambino Life Foundation and a woman Pilot was part of the guest speakers. She said, “she believes in breaking stereotypes in people that think that women cannot do men’s work.” She further added that as a woman in a male dominated industry she intends to use her position as a woman pilot to inspire ladies to take opportunities in this industry so as to expand their horizons.

In a video from the International Ambassador of CILT Uganda, Chief Teete Owusu, he said that if any women do enroll at Victoria University for this particular course, they shall get a discount off tuition. This is done to empower women and remove the stereotype norm of the logistics and transport sector aimed for men.”

The Event’s Guest of Honour and Main Speaker; Aggrey Henry Bagiire the Minister of State for Transport said, “his proud to be a partner of Victoria University to educate and attract individuals to the logistics and transport sector. Lifelong learning will be a clear necessity in imparting knowledge and building skills today in the sector.” Bagiire further added in his speech that “the growth of population is presenting a challenge for those working in the logistics and transport sector and in Kampala city, the daily day time population is over 3 million people and moving such masses to destinations is a challenge and Victoria university is coming in at the time when the service is badly needed, he thanked the directors and Management for introducing the course.”

He said the ministry was taking initiatives to support the Logistics and transport sector but that human resource is needed to manage the sector’s opportunities. “The Ministry Of Works and Transport would like to affirm its continued partnership with Victoria University under the provisions of skills and knowledge to interested individuals in the logistics and transport sector,” he said.

Victoria University, is accredited by the Uganda National Council for Higher Education (UNCHE) and Uganda Midwifery Council.

The university stands out as a pivot of academic excellence, offering a fresh and intellectually thriving environment that nurtures critical and progressive thinkers. The institution is committed to the advancement of higher education worldwide. Currently its students come from countries such as Congo, Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan, India, South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Eritrea and Somalia among others

The university has established courses tailored to the needs of the African Market, with the courses offered strategically focused at employment-oriented education and aimed at Creating Scholars empowered to provide cutting edge solutions.

Leadership, critical thinking, excellence, leadership, student, centeredness, professionalism, innovation, passion, humanity and integrity are the core values that are part of the Victoria University experience.

Due to international and local collaborations, students at the university are assured of extensive hands on training every semester which enables the learners to acquire distinctive skills and knowledge of a working environment and making them competitive in any market after graduating.

Victoria University is a research active institution where students enjoy the benefits of working with experts who are well informed and up to date with new research and developments in their respective disciplines.

Some of the guests who witnessed the launch were directors of the university, council members, vice chancellor of Victoria University, Embassy representatives from the Nigerian High Commission, Somalia, Kenya High Commission, Burundian Embassy plus some delegates from Red cross, Ministry of Gender, National Water and Sewerage Corporation, media, Victoria university staff, Victoria university students, Mulago Hospital, secondary school career masters from schools like Vienna College, Turkish light academy, Bethany High school, Godel logistics, Crane Management Services, Premier Recruitment and many other bodies.

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The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), a Regional Facilitation Unit for the World Bank-supported Africa Centers of Excellence for East and Southern Africa Project (ACE II) has selected incubation centers to be hosted at four of the Africa Centers of Excellence (ACEs).

Each of the four centers will receive a financial award of US$ 250,000 (about Shs925 million) from the World Bank grant of One million dollars (about Shs3.7 billion), seed fund for the establishment of the regional incubation centers for East and Southern Africa.

The ACEs selected to host the Incubation Centers are: ACEESD – African Center of Excellence in Energy for Sustainable Development, University of Rwanda, CREATES – Center for Research Advancement, Teaching Excellence and Sustainability in Food and Nutrition Security, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Tanzania,

Otheres are; PHARMBIOTRAC – Center for Pharm-Bio Technology and Traditional Technology, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda and PTRE – Center of Excellence in Phytochemicals, Textile and Renewable Energy based at Moi University, Kenya

IUCEA received 15 proposals in response to a call that was issued in June 2018. The call invited any African Center of Excellence participating in the ACE II Project to submit proposals to host Incubation Centers through a co-financing arrangement in the four priority areas of the ACE II Project which include health, industry, agriculture, and education/applied statistics. The proposals were evaluated through a rigorous 3-step process by an international team of experts with extensive experience in business incubation, start-ups creation and successful commercialization of innovations and covered a diverse array of important topics — such as energy for sustainable development, innovative drugs development, food and nutrition security, among others — that are critical to the development of the region.

In the evaluation process priority was given to ACEs that already had good enough products that may require improvement, promotion for wider markets and potential for business incubation, i.e. the process of nurturing of early stage ventures to success. Another key criterion considered was the capacity to source additional sources of co-financing for the Center, to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the incubation center.

According to Dr. K. A. Appiah, a member of the Regional Steering Committee of the ACE II project who chaired the Independence Selection Panel, “the quality of the proposals that were submitted was quite high, and it was a difficult decision to have to select only 4 out of the 15 proposals submitted,” he said.  He added, “We hope that more funding can be made available by host governments and other institutions to fund other incubation centers. Our international team of experts were very impressed and eager to work with the selected ACEs to ensure that the selected incubation centers are successful in commercializing research innovations towards job creation and economic growth.”

The selection panel recommended that although the fifth selected institution, Center for Innovative Drugs Development and Therapeutic Trials for Africa (CDT-Africa) could not be funded, the proposal “was one of the best and needed to be considered as a non-funded Incubation Center.”

The IUCEA and the World Bank believe that such incubation centers will help build important linkages between academia and industry to help galvanize business growth in these priority areas that are critical to long-term growth and development of the region.

“The World Bank believes strongly in the innovation potential of African research, as a key lever in the continued economic development of the continent, and these incubations centers will serve as important hubs where the impact of research can be transformed to commercial opportunities. We hope these centers will be the first among many to follow,” said Dr. Roberta Malee Bassett, Senior Education Specialist, World Bank and Task Team Leader for ACE II Project.

The Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence (ACE II) Project supports the governments of Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia in strengthening selected African Centers of Excellence (ACEs) to deliver quality post-graduate education and build collaborative research capacity in the priority areas of (i) Industry, (ii) Agriculture, (iii) Health, (iv) Education, and (v) Applied Statistics.

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