In 2009, Global Emergency Care (GEC) made history by establishing Uganda’s first rural emergency department and training program at Karoli Lwanga (Nyakibale) Hospital in Rukungiri District. This groundbreaking initiative not only reduced mortality rates but also created the country’s first cadre of emergency care providers with specialized skills in a rural setting. It laid the foundation for Uganda’s first Emergency Care Diploma program—an achievement that continues to shape the nation’s health workforce today.

Nyakibale Hospital, nestled in the mountainous southwest of Uganda, serves more than 300,000 people—over half of them children. Once a modest health centre in the 1950s, it has grown into a vital general hospital for the region, where access to healthcare remains limited. Through its partnership with Nyakibale, GEC has transformed emergency care delivery, ensuring that critically ill and injured patients receive timely, life-saving treatment.

What began in Rukungiri has since evolved into a national movement. Building on the success at Nyakibale, GEC has expanded its work across Uganda—developing accredited emergency care curricula, training thousands of providers, and strengthening hospital systems in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and global partners. Today, Nyakibale stands as both a symbol of progress and a living training ground for the next generation of emergency care leaders, proving that sustainable, high-quality emergency medicine is possible even in the most resource-limited settings.