JOHANNESBURG, July 1 (Reuters) - Liberty Health, a unit of South African insurer Liberty Group <LGLJ.J>, said on Tuesday it would take over the administration of Ugandan medical insurance firm UgaMed.

The UgaMed contract will be managed by Liberty Health's business unit, Vmed Medical Aid Administrators. It starts on Tuesday.

UgaMed, which was launched in May last year by insurance group East African Underwriters Ltd, has a 100 percent growth rate projected over the next 18 months, Liberty Health said.

"We are very excited to have finalised Liberty Health's first administration agreement with partners outside of South Africa," Liberty Health's Chief Executive Peter Botha said in a statement. (Reporting by Serena Chaudhry; editing by Sue Thomas)