AKU unveils largest global expansion since 1983 with Uganda campus, hospital

Aga Khan University’s largest global expansion since 1983 begins with new Uganda campus

KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Aga Khan University (AKU) has marked a historic milestone by inaugurating its 60-acre campus in Kampala, Uganda — its largest global expansion since the university’s founding in 1983. The event also celebrated the start of construction for the Aga Khan University Hospital, Kampala, reinforcing AKU’s mission to bring world-class education and health care to East Africa.

The inauguration ceremony was presided over by His Highness the Aga Khan, Chancellor of AKU, and President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda. First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports Honourable Janet Museveni, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan, and senior diplomats, including the Deputy German Ambassador to Uganda, were in attendance.

“At this campus, AKU will invest in developing the potential of Ugandans,” His Highness the Aga Khan said. “My hope is that ambitious young people and skilled professionals will not need to leave their home country to study or practice at the highest level. And many Ugandans will not have to travel abroad to obtain advanced health care.”

Transforming education, health care in Uganda

Located in Kampala’s central Nakawa area and designed by renowned Mexican architecture firm Legorreta, the campus is a state-of-the-art development featuring:

• Seven-storey University Centre for teaching and learning
• Nine-storey student housing building accommodating 164 students
• Four-storey ambulatory care building (Nakawa Specialty Centre)

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At full capacity, the campus will host 700 students and 100 faculty members. Later this month, the first cohort of undergraduate students will begin AKU’s four-year Bachelor of Nursing Science programme, building on a legacy of graduating more than 1,500 Ugandan nurses.

Aga Khan University Hospital, Kampala

The new 101-bed teaching hospital will provide international-standard care in over two dozen specialties, including surgery, cardiology, and family medicine. The hospital will also train physicians and postgraduate medical specialists for the first time in Uganda, creating a lasting impact on the country’s health system.

Dr. Sulaiman Shahabuddin, AKU Vice Chancellor and President, said:

“With these academic, residential and clinical foundations, we will expand our School of Nursing and Midwifery in Kampala, and for the first time in Uganda, AKU will also train physicians and launch postgraduate medical education in many needed fields such as surgery, cardiology and others.”

National recognition and international partnerships

In a special segment of the ceremony, His Highness the Aga Khan was conferred with The Most Excellent Order of the Pearl of Africa (Grand Master) — Uganda’s highest civilian honour — by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, in recognition of his decades-long contribution to social and economic development. Princess Zahra Aga Khan was honoured with The Excellent Order of the Pearl of Africa (Grand Commander) for her work in health, education, and women’s empowerment.

This development fulfills AKU’s charter as an international university and is supported by the Government of Uganda, Germany’s BMZ and KfW, and generous donors. It also expands the Aga Khan Development Network’s (AKDN) integrated system of hospitals, clinics, and academic institutions across East Africa, which collectively serve nearly 2 million patients annually.

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