The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has opened new medical facilities at its headquarters in Bilnyang, South Sudan, as part of activities marking Uganda’s 64th Independence Day.
Bilnyang is located about 25 kilometres east of the capital, Juba.
The UPDF said on Sunday that the facilities include a laboratory, an operating theatre, an antenatal room and a dental unit. They are intended to improve healthcare for Ugandan troops and members of the surrounding South Sudanese community.
Details of the facilities’ capacity, staffing levels and the extent to which civilians will be able to access them are not immediately available.
Brig. Gen. Anthony Lukwago Mbuusi, commander of the UPDF joint task force in South Sudan, thanked President Yoweri Museveni and the military leadership, particularly Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, for providing financial and logistical support for the operation.
Mbuusi praised medical personnel for their commitment to patient care and efforts to ease congestion in the wards. He also welcomed newly deployed staff and urged them to carry out their duties diligently. Senior and junior officers attended the ceremony.
The UPDF is deployed in South Sudan under Operation Mlinzi wa Kimya after President Salva Kiir requested military assistance in March 2025, amid renewed fighting and fears of a return to civil war.
Uganda has long been a key security partner of Kiir’s government. It deployed troops during the civil war that erupted in December 2013 and has maintained close military ties with Juba. Kampala says its latest deployment is intended to help stabilise South Sudan, although the involvement of Ugandan forces in government military operations has drawn scrutiny from the public.
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