By Olivia Nabaggala
26th April 2023
The Uganda Medical Association (UMA) has issued fresh demands and recommendations aimed at improving the welfare of medics.
The association says there is urgent need for the deployment of Medical interns and senior house officers, to bridge the gap in Uganda of one doctor to 20,000 patients.
On Monday, police in Kampala apprehended over 30 Pre- Medical Interns who have been protesting at Parliament over the Ministry of Health’s failure to deploy them to government hospitals.
The interns, who were carrying placards with protest messages, were intercepted on their way to Parliament and the President’s office, where they planned to hand over petitions detailing their grievances.
The demonstration of the medical interns came as Ugandans protested the poor state of health facilities and challenges in accessing services in the country.
In a statement, the president of UMA, Dr. Edith Nakku said a good number of recently graduated medical students, also referred to as pre-interns, concluded their education successfully in February 2023 and have since been waiting at home for 8 months to join medical internship to work under supervision, get their full licenses and start working on their own.
Nakku says these medics carry 60%-70% of the workload in government and private hospitals in Uganda, noting that there should not be any delay in the licensing of capable and skilled medical doctors in a country where they are so needed.
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