On December 13th 2016 BTC Uganda officially launched the new Health and Education regional office in Fort Portal. BTC has been operating in the Rwenzori and Albertine region for years but since June 2016, a regional office has been established in Fort Portal for the Health and Education projects. The new office will improve access to the beneficiaries of these two departments, while increasing the collaboration with key stakeholders and local district leaders. In short, it will enhance the response and integration of local issues.

Dr. Fedjo Galbert, International Technical Assistant at the BTC Uganda Health department kicked off the launch with some insights on their recent focal point: Results Based Financing. The aim of this approach is to make districts and health service providers more accountable by regularly verifying the quantity and quality of delivered health services, while at the same time reducing the patients bill.  

Jan Bijnens, the Education programme manager for BTC Uganda highlighted the importance of the new office for the implementation of the Support to Skilling Uganda (SSU) project. At the grassroots level, SSU focuses on improving the quality of training and qualification processes, while enhancing access to BTVET. The project can now collaborate more closely with local BTVET institutions, which increases its efficiency and effectiveness. 

Finally, Erwin De Wandel, Head of Development Cooperation for the Belgian Embassy, officially cut the ribbon at the door and concluded that “The opening of the regional project office is a logical step and a demonstration of the committed development support towards Uganda’s local development agenda.” He is convinced that the regional office in Fort Portal will evolve towards a center of reference for all development partners, especially all Belgian partners and NGOs, in view of exchanges of experiences and synergies of activities.