The minister of State for Primary Health Care, Charles Ayume, has defended the government’s proposal to borrow Shs 139 billion from the French government to construct and equip the Uganda Cancer Institute Mbarara Regional Oncology Centre.Ayume, who was appearing before parliament’s committee on health, said the proposed loan is for one of the four regional centres planned to reduce congestion at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) in Kampala.“The out-of-pocket expenditure of someone travelling from Kisoro or Kaabong district, who also has to come with a caretaker, is costly. That is why we are trying to decentralise these services,” Ayume said.The loan request was first tabled before parliament by the minister of Finance, Henry Musasizi, on September 29, 2026. Ayume said that the Mbarara centre will initially provide essential services, such as cancer screening, chemotherapy and surgery.These services, he said, will improve early detection and prevent avoidable deaths. “In my district, Koboko, when one comes to Mulago for cancer treatment, they return in a body bag because there are no screening services and no early diagnosis. This is what we want to address through the regional cancer centres,” said the State Minister.Ayume added that although the centre will primarily serve Ugandans, it will also support medical tourism by attracting patients from the East African Community and other African countries. He noted that foreigners currently constitute about 20 per cent of patients treated at Uganda Cancer Institute.“The priority of this centre is Ugandans, but in the spirit of Pan-Africanism, we will use it for medical tourism, targeting the East African Community and other African countries,” said Ayume. The minister said that they will soon introduce proton therapy, an advanced form of radiation treatment that precisely targets tumors while reducing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. He said the service would position UCI as a leading cancer centre in Africa.Dr Jackson Orem, Uganda Cancer Institute executive director, however, clarified that the Mbarara centre will not initially offer radiotherapy because of limited funding, adding that patients requiring the service will in the meantime be referred to UCI in Kampala.“Instead of spreading ourselves thin, we decided to first provide basic services and later introduce the more sophisticated modes of treatment,” Orem said.The deputy vice-chancellor of Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Prof Joseph Ngonzi, said the university has allocated 8.5 acres of land for the project and is finalising a memorandum of understanding with Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI).“The University Council approved the request and a letter of offer was given to UCI. We are in the process of finalising the memorandum of understanding regarding this engagement,” said Ngonzi.Ngonzi added that the centre would support MUST’s move towards super specialised medical training and confirmed that the university has trained personnel, including biomedical engineers, to operate the centre.Julius Rude, the health committee chairperson, sought assurance that the government’s Shs 16 billion counterpart contribution had been provided for in the budget.“If the counterpart funding is not provided for in the budget, it will delay the project or it will get stuck along the way,” Rude said.T’oo County MP Peter Kiti called for the establishment of a special cancer-treatment fund to finance expensive medicines.“Cancer medicines are expensive and beyond the reach of an ordinary person. We need a special fund to support their procurement and make treatment more affordable,” Kiti said.He also called for scientific studies into herbal remedies reportedly used to treat cancer.The post Minister Ayume defends Shs 139bn French loan for Mbarara cancer centre appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.