Using the contributions pursuant to funding agreements with the Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation (FMJC), the Teasdale Corti Foundation supports several initiatives of St. Mary's Lacor Hospital. The projects to which the FMJC contributes can be summarized in three components, as illustrated below.
The Foundation funds other projects using other donor funds. Sometimes it contributes to the same projects that are primarily funded using FMJC contributions.
Multi-year financing of general health care 2026–2028
The funds provided by the FMJC allow the Foundation to be one of the Hospital's three main funders under its Results-Based Financing (RBF) modality.
FMJC funding not only improves access to health services for the population of Gulu District, but also gives the Foundation leverage to contain service costs while improving health outcomes, particularly for mothers and children.
In the Gulu region, government facilities provide only half of the hospital care needed to properly look after the local population. Lacor Hospital therefore plays an irreplaceable role with an important segment of the population that includes not only mothers and children, but also the people who support them and on whom they often depend.
The FMJC funding contributes to the subsidization of up to 70% of the care cost, leaving the burden of the remaining 30% on all patients, the wealthiest contributing a little for the poorest because the Hospital does not refuse admission to anyone.
The impacts and incidences of RBF are multiple because at the individual level, there are so many stories and poignant testimonies of how lives have been changed thanks to care received without catastrophic debt (a chief cause of poverty in poor countries). The only alternative would have be to renounce care.
Residual 2020–2025 funds for the Hospital's pharmacy
This project is funded from FMJC funds that were not used during the 2020–2024 period, the deadline for which was extended to December 31, 2025. This period was marked from the outset by the COVID-19 pandemic, which completely disrupted the interventions planned to refocus the Hospital's pharmacy function.
The Teasdale-Corti and Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundations have therefore agreed to extend the availability period of the unspent funds until June 30, 2028 in order to finally allow for the completion of the Hospital's pharmacy restructuring. Medicines are the second largest item of expenditure for the Hospital, after salaries. It is important to control them effectively.
The Hospital's pharmacy is now structured into two sections: the clinical pharmacy and the pharmacy stores. FMJC funds cover the employment of two senior Ugandan pharmacists to lead each of the two new sections. The new pharmacists took up their duties in November 2025. They have already completed several important tasks aimed at strengthening internal controls, establishing clear procedures, and establishing organizational and personnel performance objectives for all employees.
The project strengthens functional management and inventory control. It also provides a better foundation for accountability and integration between clinical operations and the pharmaceutical supply chain.
The electric infrastructure
The Hospital has taken several years to reach the size it is today. Its infrastructure has grown since the 1960s without necessarily having a master plan to ensure harmonization. With several components at the end of their life, and reduced reliability, the Hospital must rebuild its electrical network in order to fill the gaps and avoid any interruption of essential services. Most of the Hospital's electrical energy comes from the national grid. The Hospital has emergency generators, like any similar facility.
The modernization project is major. It exceeds 1.6 million CAD. FMJC provided CAD 314,000 to the Teasdale-Corti Foundation to enable the Hospital to commence the project. This funding has enabled the mobilization of donated services and equipment in Italy.
Italian electrical engineers have completed "as-built" plans for the power grid, a technical feasibility assessment and a detailed estimate of the modernization work to be carried out. Procurement for the most urgent work begins with the primary distribution network in August 2026. It should be noted that more than 90% of the electrical engineers' time was covered free of charge by an Italian donor.
Engineers have informed the Hospital that its electrical infrastructure is more complex and fragile than previously thought. There are many outdated components, overloaded lines, and incomplete technical documents.
An Italian electrical cable manufacturer plans to donate 27,000 m of new modern cables worth more than 900,000 CAD to the Hospital. This would cover most of the needs anticipated in the technical assessment. In addition, the donor will likely cover the transportation of the cables from Italy to the Hospital.
If the above-mentioned donation comes to fruition, goods and services worth more than CAD 1.3 million will have been mobilized thanks to the FMJC grant. The teamwork of the Teasdale-Corti Foundation (Canada), Lacor Hospital and Corti Foundation (Italy) made it possible to mobilize such resources for this important project of the Hospital.
