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Bwindi Community Hospital

Bwindi Community Hospital began in 2003 as a clinic under a tree. Dr. Scott Kellermann and his wife Carol arrived in southwest Uganda in 2001 to help the Batwa. Indigenous forest people displaced when Bwindi Impenetrable Forest became a national park in 1991, leaving them in extreme poverty with almost no access to healthcare. What started under a tree has grown into a 155-bed hospital that handles 40,000 consultations a year, serves a population of 120,000, and has consistently ranked among the best-performing hospitals in Uganda for over a decade. It operates a nursing school that provides the only registered nurse-level degree in the region, runs mobile community health clinics in remote settlements, and provides specialized services that benefit patients nationwide. All of Deeper Africa’s safari supports this work. Travelers who visit the hospital are welcomed. And some, like the top cancer surgeon in our intro who ended up participating in surgeries during his stay, find it one of the most profound experiences of their lives. When you book a Deeper Africa Uganda safari, your journey contributes to one of the most remarkable healthcare stories in East Africa.

 

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From a Tree to One of Uganda’s Best Hospitals

When Dr. Scott and Carol Kellermann arrived in Bwindi in 2001, more than 100,000 people had virtually no access to healthcare. The Batwa, evicted from Bwindi Impenetrable Forest when it became a national park in 1991, faced a child mortality rate of 38% under five and a life expectancy of just 28 years. Dr. Kellermann began treating patients under a ficus tree. Today, Bwindi Community Hospital has 155 beds, handles 40,000 consultations a year, and has been ranked among Uganda’s best-performing hospitals every year since 2009, including winning the 2021 Prince Albert II of Monaco Prize for Innovative Philanthropy.

Services & The Batwa Mission

The hospital serves 120,000 people across southwest Uganda with outpatient and inpatient care, maternal and child health, a neonatal unit, dental and eye care, HIV and TB treatment, mental health, and mobile community clinics reaching remote settlements. The Batwa receive free healthcare at the hospital, and the Kellermann Foundation’s Batwa Development Program addresses the root causes of their poverty through land, housing, education, and income programs. Uganda Nursing School Bwindi trains the next generation of local healthcare professionals, the only registered nurse-level degree program in the region.

How Your Deeper Africa Safari Supports the Hospital

Travelers on Deeper Africa’s Uganda safari’s can visit Bwindi Community Hospital as part of their itinerary, meeting staff and seeing firsthand one of East Africa’s most remarkable healthcare institutions. Medical professionals traveling with Deeper Africa have occasionally been welcomed to participate in the hospital’s work directly. Every Deeper Africa Uganda booking contributes to the ecotourism revenue that keeps the hospital’s community programs running, because the communities living alongside Bwindi’s mountain gorillas deserve both conservation and healthcare.

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Bwindi Community Hospital

Patient ward at Bwindi Community Hospital in Uganda — a 155-bed hospital serving 120,000 people near Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Outpatient clinic at Bwindi Community Hospital Uganda — providing healthcare to 120,000 people near Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Bwindi Community Hospital Uganda near Bwindi Impenetrable Forest — founded by Dr. Scott Kellermann and supported by gorilla trekking safari tourism
Nursing student at Uganda Nursing School Bwindi — the only registered nurse-level degree program in southwest Uganda, operated by Bwindi Community Hospital
Bwindi Community Hospital facility Uganda — ranked among the best hospitals in Uganda for over a decade near Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Bwindi Community Hospital mobile outreach clinic Uganda — reaching remote communities near Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with preventive healthcare
Medical training and academics at Bwindi Community Hospital Uganda — educating healthcare professionals in one of East Africa's most remote regions
Clinical training at Bwindi Community Hospital Uganda — US physicians and local staff on two-month service rotations near Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

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