OUR STORY

Mengo Hospital Partners is a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in January 2021 to address the critical need for sustainable, modern pediatric healthcare facilities at Mengo Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Some of the founding members of our board were earlier involved with Friends of Mengo USA, a group of parishioners attending Christ Church (Episcopal) in Alexandria, Virginia, who fostered a mission relationship with Mengo Hospital in the early 1980s that endures to this day.

Over the decades, Christ Church has worked alongside other Friends of Mengo organizations in the UK and Canada to deliver medicine to Mengo Hospital and to fund vital projects on the hospital grounds in Kampala, including constructing a dental clinic, establishing a maternal HIV/AIDS clinic, and helping to expand medical facilities. Most recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the church supported the hospital by providing essential personal protective equipment (PPE) for first responders and creating space to house morbidly ill patients suffering from the virus.

Mengo Hospital Partners was established to create an entity to operate outside of and separate from Christ Church Alexandria and as a means of taking support for Mengo Hospital to a higher level. We were inspired by the Rev. Dr. Mark S. Anschutz, a founding member of our board and a former rector of Christ Church Alexandria and later the Rector of St. Michael and All Angels in Dallas, TX. Mark helped to create the mission relationship with Mengo Hospital during his time in Alexandria and to inspire generations of parishioners to engage in global mission work.  The founding of Mengo Hospital Partners is a tribute to Mark’s legacy of caring for “the least of these.” Mark has, from “day one,” urged our board (in Texas terms) to think “bodaciously,” challenging us to embrace bold plans to make a lasting impact on pediatric healthcare in Uganda. Inspired by his vision and building on a decades-long relationship with the leadership of Mengo Hospital, we are committed to addressing the urgent needs of this underserved community with particular emphasis on improving healthcare for infants and children. Together, we can bring hope, healing, and a brighter future to children and families in Kampala, Uganda, and, ultimately, across East Africa.

MISSION

Partner with Mengo Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, to transform pediatric healthcare and improve outcomes and access within the country and the region.

MISSION

At Mengo Hospital Partners, our mission is to support Mengo Hospital in providing comprehensive, compassionate, and modern healthcare services in Kampala.

VISION

Establish a leading pediatric center of excellence in Kampala, setting a new standard for modern, sustainable, innovative, and compassionate healthcare for children across East Africa.

Mengo Hospital Partners is deeply rooted in a commitment to partnering with Mengo Hospital's leadership to transform pediatric healthcare and create a ripple effect that elevates the standard of care across the region. We are dedicated to enhancing the hospital’s teaching, research, and referral center capabilities. By fostering partnerships and leveraging resources, we aim to ensure access to high-quality, child-centered medical care, uphold the legacy of innovation and compassion established in 1897, and improve healthcare outcomes for Uganda’s youngest and most vulnerable populations.

Together with the hospital board, administration, and staff, we envision a future where Mengo Hospital becomes a premier hub for pediatric medical innovation within Uganda and beyond. Before turning to our ultimate goal of building a Pediatric Center of Excellence, we plan to complete the existing, partially-finished general outpatient building at the entrance to Mengo Hospital and incorporate the hospital’s Pediatrics Department. When finished, this building will provide not only comprehensive outpatient medical services for families, as initially planned by Mengo Hospital, but will also feature new and expanded facilities for the Pediatrics Department, including upgraded neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, operating theaters and children’s hospital beds as well as a new radiology unit and emergency ward for pediatric patients.

These efforts are not just about constructing new spaces; they are a testament to our unwavering commitment to partnering with Mengo Hospital to meet the most urgent pediatric healthcare needs and to empower the community with sustainable, innovative, and compassionate care for generations to come.

HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE OF UGANDA

Healthcare service delivery in Uganda is severely hampered by the convergence of multiple factors. Technology and equipment access is restricted, the healthcare workforce is severely understaffed, and building structures cannot safely house all patients at capacity. These conditions create a critical healthcare inequity. Many patients go without necessary care, and ailments considered minor in the developed medical world can turn fatal because of service limitations. In addition to general healthcare barriers for common ailments, access to specialists is gravely limited, leaving those with serious illness vulnerable and without adequate treatment.

Perhaps the most critical facet of the current Ugandan healthcare landscape is how these entrenched care disparities impact children. Right now, nearly half of Uganda's population of 50 million is under the age of 16, but in the next 25 years, the pediatric population is expected to double in size. Thus, the institutional pressure created by this ever-growing youth population cannot be understated. Current resources are not anywhere nearly adequate. According to a recent study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, less than 50% of Ugandan children receive the minimal medical care they need. Hence, Uganda’s children are already in critical need when it comes to healthcare. This situation will only worsen unless significantly improved healthcare delivery services and infrastructure expansion are instituted in a timely manner.

HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE AT MENGO HOSPITAL

Mengo Hospital suffers from critical limitations in the availability of healthcare personnel, space, and equipment. In addition, the hospital’s basic infrastructure (water, power, oxygen generation, etc.) is fragile. Further, the hospital lacks adequate resources for emergency care, such as ICU beds, and disease specialists, such as oncologists. Pediatric care is particularly limited and needs rapid expansion to support Uganda's burgeoning youth population.

Mengo Hospital Partners is working closely with Mengo Hospital leadership and pediatric specialists to understand the demands facing hospital operations. We are a liaison between a very taxed hospital and the resources the hospital desperately needs. While there are a few surgical specialty hospitals in and around nearby Entebbe, there is no “Children’s Hospital” that has the capacity and capability to both diagnose and comprehensively treat children effectively. As a result, families get shuffled from one clinic to the next without clear oversight from doctors. This process quickly becomes prohibitively expensive and difficult to navigate. The Mengo Hospital Partners’ story is one borne from a spirit of collaboration and a deep desire to transform the capability, capacity, and reach of Mengo Hospital.

HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE OF UGANDA

Healthcare service delivery in Uganda is severely hampered by the convergence of multiple factors. Technology and equipment access is restricted, the healthcare workforce is experiencing shortages, and building structures cannot safely house all patients at capacity. Many go without necessary care, and ailments considered minor in the modern medical world can turn fatal because of service limitations.

In addition to general healthcare barriers for common ailments, access to specialists is scarce, leaving those with serious illness vulnerable and without treatment.

Perhaps the most important facet of the current Ugandan healthcare landscape is how children are being impacted by these entrenched disparities in care. Right now, 48% of Uganda's population is under the age of 16, but in the next 23 years the population is expected to double in size. The amount of institutional pressure created by the youth population cannot be understated. Current resources are not anywhere near treating the youth population adequately. According to a recent study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, less than 50% of Ugandan children receive the medical care they need. Uganda is already in crisis when it comes to healthcare, and with the looming population explosion this crisis will only worsen unless drastic infrastructure expansion is executed in a timely manner.

PARTNERS

Mengo Hospital and Mengo Hospital Partners are collaborating with the MASS Design Group and Localworks to design and build new pediatric healthcare facilities at the Hospital.

This exciting collaboration is focused on the future construction of a Child Care Center for Mengo Hospital staff, the completion of a facility that will house a new Department of Pediatrics with critical inpatient and outpatient services, and, ultimately, the building of the Pediatric Center of Excellence. All will be integrated to propel Mengo Hospital's ability to provide comprehensive, quality care for children in a sustainable way.

MASS DESIGN GROUP

MASS Design Group (MASS)’s mission is to research, build, and advocate for architecture that promotes justice and human dignity. MASS (Model of Architecture Serving Society), based in Boston, MA, USA, was founded with the belief that architecture’s impact extends far beyond individual buildings. MASS holds that architecture is crucial in helping communities confront history, shape new narratives, heal collectively, and envision new futures. It is committed to expanding access to design that is purposeful, healing, and hopeful. MASS has designed multiple healthcare facilities across the world, including Africa. In 2020, MASS was named the Architecture Innovator of the Year by the Wall Street Journal for its use of architecture as a medium for healing.

massdesigngroup.org

PARTNERS

Mengo Hospital and Mengo Hospital Partners are collaborating with MASS Designs and Local Works to enhance our infrastructure.

This exciting collaboration is focused on the future construction of a new Child Care Center for Mengo Hospital staff and the Pediatric Center of Excellence, both of which will further expand Mengo Hospital's ability to provide comprehensive, quality care.

MASS DESIGNS

Mass Designs’ mission is to research, build, and advocate for architecture that promotes justice and human dignity. MASS Design Group was founded with the belief that architecture’s impact extends far beyond individual buildings. MASS (Model of Architecture Serving Society) holds that architecture plays a crucial role in helping communities confront history, shape new narratives, heal collectively, and envision new futures. We are committed to expanding access to design that is purposeful, healing, and hopeful. In 2020, the Wall Street Journal named MASS the Architecture Innovator of the Year for our origins in healthcare and our dedication to using architecture as a medium for healing.

massdesigngroup.org

LOCALWORKS

Localworks is an award-winning, multidisciplinary design and build collaborative based in Kampala, Uganda, specializing in ecological architecture across East Africa. Localworks is dedicated to advancing green architecture both in theory and practice. Its approach is grounded in sustainable architecture principles, emphasizing site-sensitive, contextual design and socioeconomic, environmental, and technological appropriateness. The Localworks concept is built on four pillars: research, design, build, and share.

localworks.ug