Bwindi Community Hospital is located in the northern part of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, in the Buhoma sector, southwestern Uganda. The hospital started with just one doctor sitting under a tree, offering free health services. It was founded in 2003 by Scot and Carol Kellermann. In 2008, it was upgraded into a hospital with the construction of an operating theater.
The hospital was initially established to help the Batwa pygmy people, who were displaced from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which had been their home for hundreds of years. Over time, the hospital began treating people from across the area and even beyond.
Bwindi Community Hospital has significantly improved in recent years, becoming a 112-bed facility that serves over 100,000 people. It is now considered one of the best hospitals in the Sub-Saharan region. The hospital has been rated the best-performing hospital in Uganda by the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau.
The hospital is affiliated with an Anglican church under the Kinkiizi Diocese. It has a staff of over 100 workers, with 70% coming from the local area and 30% from other parts of Uganda. The hospital’s laboratory has been ranked as the best in southwestern Uganda by STAR South West, an NGO focused on fighting HIV in the region.
The Sustain for Life gardens at the hospital provide food for patients and staff while also training communities on nutrition, sanitation, and sustainable agriculture. In 2013, Bwindi Community Hospital was recognized by Public Opinions Uganda for its contribution to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Accessibility for all is a key part of the hospital’s mission, based on the belief that everyone has an equal right to healthcare. The hospital sends teams to surrounding villages seven days a week and has opened a satellite center in a Batwa settlement called Byumba.
Cases of malaria have dropped significantly, from 23.2% in 2006 to 13.5% in 2011. Outpatient department (OPD) attendance has also grown by 85% over three years.
