The Ugandan government has announced a major Shs132.6 billion initiative to tackle the persistent shortage of health workers in public health facilities. Approved by Parliament as part of the 2026/2027 financial year budget, the plan aims to recruit 16,963 health workers across the country.
The recruitment fund of Shs132.6 billion is dedicated to hiring additional personnel and forms part of a broader effort to strengthen health service delivery. This includes Shs20 billion for upgrading health facilities and over Shs15 billion for the national organ transplant programme.
The recruitment drive targets critical staff shortages at all levels of the health system, from national and regional referral hospitals to general hospitals and lower-level facilities, including Health Centre IIs, IIIs, and IVs. Officials hope this move will reduce long patient queues, ease staff workloads, and minimize the need for citizens to travel long distances to access basic care.
Validation exercises are currently underway at 16 regional referral hospitals. The first phase will recruit approximately 3,600 staff, with the process overseen by the Health Service Commission (HSC). Ministry of Health spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyoona confirmed that the HSC manages all recruitment logistics.
The initiative comes amid ongoing challenges in Uganda’s health sector, including recent U.S. funding cuts that affected donor-supported programs for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, resulting in job losses for some workers. A related memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the U.S. now provides temporary salary support for affected staff, while the government gradually integrates them into the national payroll. The recruitment plan also aligns with efforts to absorb threatened workers, reportedly up to 18,000, under a $2.3 billion health cooperation framework.