FBW GROUP DELIVERS STATE-OF-THE ART UGANDA RESEARCH CLINIC
Construction work has been completed on the first phase of a $1million (US) state-of-the-art research clinic in Entebbe created by leading East African planning, design, architecture and engineering team FBW Group.
The clinic is a joint project involving the UK’s Medical Research Council (MRC), The Wellcome Trust, the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
LSHTM and MRC are involved in a range of work in East Africa, partnering to boost research capacity into some of the current and emerging health issues in the region and specifically in Uganda.CLINIC CONSTRUCTION
The MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit is currently heavily involved in the region’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The newly-completed clinic in Entebbe has the potential to offer international research facilities within the vicinity of the current MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit Entebbe Campus and to improve the provision of health to both research participants and community members.
The new facilities will host a range of leading, high-standard medical research, including vaccine trials.
It is also envisaged that the centre will provide a day service in collaboration with the renovated Entebbe Hospital, providing for admission if required in emergencies.
It is the latest in a series of life-changing medical developments that FBW Group has helped deliver in the region since its creation in 1995, including a number of clinics and hospitals serving remote rural areas.
FBW is also currently working on a high-profile £9.5m project to deliver Malawi’s first specialist postgraduate medical training centre.
A cornerstone of its work is the development and reconstruction of urban and rural hospitals, providing practical solutions, responding to the local conditions and at the same time creating healthy environments for patients.
In Entebbe, its architects, design team and engineers worked together to deliver the new Clinical Research Centre.
FBW Group has operations in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. Managing director Paul Moores, who is based in Kampala, said: “Now completed, this first phase of an ambitious research project is a true community asset that will make a real difference to people’s lives.
“We have a strong working relationship with MRC that goes back more than a decade and we’re pleased to have been able to play our role in this latest development for organisations that are at the forefront of medical research in Africa.”
Construction work began last September. FBW used locally available and sourced materials in the building. The clinic has natural ventilation and it will sit in a landscaped setting.
Stuart Hartley, the practice’s chief operating officer, added: “FBW has built strong links with the healthcare sector in the region since we began working here in 1994 and we’re very proud of the portfolio of clinics, hospitals and research facilities that have benefitted people in so many ways.
“Over those years we’ve seen the advancement of medicine and medical facilities in East Africa and the investment that has gone into ensuring those advances continue to be made.
“The new research clinic we have now delivered in Entebbe is a major resource for a medical team that is already internationally recognised for its vitally important work.”
Professor Pontiano Kaleebu, who is director of the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and of the MRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, said: “We are excited at the completion of the first phase of the research clinic facility, as this will increase the space available for our teams to attend to various participants as part of on-going and future research.
“The facility, with its elegant and robust designs will also provide opportunities for collaborations on world-class clinical research and improve the services offered by the Unit to the public. We are grateful to the Wellcome Trust and the MRC/UKRI, for funding this facility”.
In Uganda, FBW has worked with Hospice Africa to deliver its clinic in Kampala and designed and masterplanned the Virika Hospital at Fort Portal. It was also the architect and master planner on the Nsambya Hospital’s Children’s Burns Unit in Kampala.
In Tanzania it has worked on a range of hospital projects, including Mikumi Hospital, Peraminho Hospital, the Mtinko Health Centre and the Tabora Centre for Audiology and Speech.
It is also currently working to help deliver a groundbreaking women’s health project in Kigutu in Burundi.
FBW, which has recruited some of the top talent in architecture, design and engineering in East Africa, offers a wide range of in-house professional building and technical services.
They include pre-design services, development consultancy, building appraisals and condition surveys, project management, architecture, civil and structural engineering, MEP engineering, telecommunication engineering, and other building consultancy services.
The major player in the region’s construction and development sector was founded in 1994 by UK and Dutch architects and engineers.
FBW has built a strong track record in supporting British-based organisations to deliver international standards in East Africa.