General
Pharmacy has a new home in Makerere
The proposed new building for the School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences was yesterday 7th January 2010 officially handed over by the contractor M/S Arab Contractors at a ceremony presided over by the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba.
The proposed new building for the School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences was yesterday 7th January 2010 officially handed over by the contractor M/S Arab Contractors at a ceremony presided over by the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba.
An inspection of the building was led by Project Manager from M/S COWI Uganda Eng. Peter Lohmann Otteskov, which saw the delegation tour the new facility complete with access ramps for people with disabilities, a 200-seater lecture theatre, laboratories, lecture rooms, staff offices, an indoor canteen and a high pressure hazard shower area, in the event of accidental chemical spills onto end-users.
The delegation then proceeded to the lecture theatre, where the Lead Consultant Eng. Otteskov thanked both parties from Makerere and the Contractors for their efforts, which culminated in the completion of the 4-year project.
Eng. Arfat Abdel Wahed, General Manager, M/S Arab Contractors Uganda on behalf of his company expressed his pleasure in handing over yet another building in Makerere University to its end-users. He then pledged the Contractor’s commitment to provide technical support and training to the users of the facility especially members of the Estates and Works Department, who will be in charge of the maintenance of the facility. He finally thanked the Management of Makerere University for awarding his company the contract and guaranteed their availability in future construction projects at the university.
Representing the Principal, College of Health Sciences, The Dean, School of Medicine Dr. Stephen Kijjambu, thanked the Architects, Contractors and Consultants for a job well done. He appreciated the loads of new space provided by the building, especially provisions for the persons with disabilities, which showed Makerere’s commitment to cater all categories of future students. He appreciated the timely completion of the building, which will enable the University to train more students so as to improve on the ratio of Pharmacists to the population. He paid tribute to the Pharmacists, who regularly and consistently gave back to their Department and hoped that with the new building, this lead to the eventual launching of a School of Pharmacy.
In his remarks, the University Secretary Mr. Kahundha Muhwezi thanked the team from the College of Health Sciences who diligently worked with the contractor throughout the project. He thanked the DANIDA for the great honor accorded to Makerere through the College of Health Science in helping reduce the disease burden by facilitating the training of more Pharmacists to meet the National demand for these critical professionals. He hoped that the completion of such projects would foster Inter-University collaboration between Danish and Ugandan universities, especially regarding the student exchange programmes.
On behalf of Makerere University, the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Baryamureeba expressed his heartfelt appreciation to DANIDA for the grant of Danish Kroner (DKK) 15million approx. $2.5million (UGX 5billion) to establish a new School of Pharmacy under the College of Health Sciences. He admitted that through increased enrolment, Makerere should be able to train more Pharmacists so as to improve on the current unfavorable ratio of Pharmacists per population of 1:100,000.
He then expressed his gratitude to the Royal Danish Government, The Royal Danish Embassy in Uganda and the Danish people for their continued support to the Country and to Makerere University in particular. Furthermore, he prayed that such collaborations would extend to other sectors of Medicine so as to yield more facilities and output other Medical professionals, who also have an equally appalling ratio per population.
Eng. Arfat then officially handed over the keys to the Vice-Chancellor, who then handed over to Mr. Muhwezi the University Secretary. The University Secretary then handed over to Mr. Masanso, Acting Manager, Estates and Works Department, who proceeded to hand over to the Representative of the Principal and Head, School of Medicine Dr. Kijjambu, who finally handed over to Prof. Richard Odoi Adome, Dean, School of Health Sciences, College of Health Science.
In concluding remarks, Prof. Adome thanked DANIDA ; represented by Mr. Frans Bosman, Pharmaceutical Sector Advisor and Mr. Claes Blooms for the timely grant, which fulfilled the urgent need to expand Departmental space of 350 square meters, housing 120 students over the four-year programme. He thanked the Management of the University for helping secure the land, despite its geographical site outside the current College of Health Sciences location in Mulago. He pledged that with the new facility now in place, the Department’s dream of achieving School status had been greatly enhanced.
M/S Arab Contractors has previously carried out construction projects in Makerere, like the recently opened Faculty of Technology Extension building . The newly handed-over facility will host 325 students and 50 members of staff. The grant used to establish the new School of Pharmacy building is part of the Royal Danish Government assistance to Uganda’s Health Sector Support Phase III through DANIDA.
Waste Management efforts at Makerere University have been boosted by a donation of 30 waste bins by Centenary Bank’s Makerere Branch. The bins received on Monday 11th May 2026 in the Freedom Square by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe in the company of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs), Prof. Sarah Ssali, Deputy University Secretary, Mr. Simon Kizito and other officials were handed over by the Branch Manager, Mr. Sunday Julius.
Appreciating the donation from Centenary Bank on behalf of University Management, Prof. Nawangwe noted that Makerere University strives to maintain “the cleanest environment in Kampala”, especially as a good example to future leaders, the students.
Acknowledging earlier donations to the Halls of Residence by Centenary Bank, Prof. Nawangwe described the ceremony as “the beginning of a long journey of collaboration in environmental stewardship,” with separation of plastics from biodegradable waste earmarked as the next step in user education.
In his remarks, Mr. Sunday noted that the donation was in line with the Bank’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives, particularly the Social component, where supporting institutions with waste management facilities to enhance hygiene is key. “It is important for Centenary Bank to give back to the society where it makes money”, he emphasized.
Describing Makerere University as the “main institution that Centenary Bank operates a branch”, Mr. Sunday recognised the donation as a step in the right direction with a valuable partner.
The newly-donated bins will be placed in various public locations under supervision of the Estates and Works Directorate.
Makerere University and the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA (ND) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which opens opportunities for collaboration between the two historic and leading research institutions in the areas of staff and student exchange, joint research and training, joint supervision of graduate students, and others.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe signed on behalf of Makerere University and Rev. Robert A. Dowd, the 18th President signed on behalf of the University of Notre Dame. The ceremony, which was held at the University of Notre Dame campus at South Bend, Indiana was witnessed by Dr. Lorna Magara, the Chairperson of the Council of Makerere University, who led the Mak delegation.
Dr. Magara appreciated the institutionalisation of the collaboration between the two universities and the very warm hospitality accorded to the Mak delegation.
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