Makerere University Main Building.
Makerere University has agreed to offer support to its international students who were left trapped at the University following the closure of education institutions by President Yoweri Museveni as part of the measures to control the spread of COVID-19 in Uganda.
“At today’s online meeting of Top Management, it has been decided to give a relief package to International students in hostels and in Livingstone and Africa Halls of residence for the remaining two weeks of lockdown. Each of these students will receive Shs63,000 for feeding,” the University said via its official Twitter handle.
The development comes at the time Makerere University Hospital revealed plans to start testing for Coronavirus, after receiving 40,000 COVID19 testing kits through research collaboration with Case Western Reserve University in the United States.
Uganda Bankers Association and DPF have also extended financial support worth Shs200M to Makerere to support the COVID-19 rapid test kits production, a development that puts the University at the helm of fighting Coronovirus in the country
However, it isn’t just the international students staying at the institution.
Makerere University also retained medical students to help the team from Ministry of Health fight the threat of coronavirus in the country.
This was after the University Management agreed to the request from the Ministry of Health to retain all Clinical postgraduate students at Mulago Hospital and affiliated hospitals of Kiruddu, Kawempe, Butabika, and Naguru as well as a section of academic staff in priority fields to join them.
Barnabas Nawangwe, Vice Chancellor Makerere University while announcing the development said the decision was intended to serve both Uganda and Africa, having done the same during Ebola outbreak.
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