By Our Reporter
16th May 2023
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has stated that they are still uncertain about the exact deployment date for medical interns to begin their one-year training, despite several demonstrations that have taken place since April.
Dr. Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary of the MOH, revealed in an interview with our reporter on Tuesday that a cabinet meeting had been held on Monday to discuss the payment issues concerning medical interns, Senior House Officers, and Senior Doctors, who have been on strike.
However, she explained that the meeting did not reach a definitive conclusion regarding when the medical interns, who were initially supposed to commence training on April 1st, would report to various hospitals across the country.
This is pending a commitment from the Ministry of Finance regarding funding.
Dr. Atwine further clarified that the availability of the necessary funds had not yet been indicated to them by the cabinet.
In a separate incident on Monday, several pre-interns were arrested by the police and detained in Wandegeya while marching to the president’s office to amplify their demands.
Apart from the delay in deployment, the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) expressed concern over reports that the government plans to discontinue the payment of allowances to interns due to an increase in the number of interns exceeding the available funding.
Currently, medical interns receive a monthly allowance of 2.5 million shillings.
Dr. Atwine attributed the unforeseen increase in intern numbers to the failure of the Ministry of Education to regulate the intake of students into medical schools.
However, Dr. Frank Asiimwe Rubabinda, the President of the Association of Surgeons of Uganda (ASOU), proposed an alternative solution. He suggested that instead of regulating student numbers, the government should consider privatizing medical internships.
This would enable private hospitals with the necessary equipment and staff to provide the required training.
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