The Ministry of Health has taken a significant step in resolving the ongoing back-and-forth between medical interns and the government.
In a recent announcement, Dr. Henry Mwebesa, the Director General of Health Services, revealed that medical interns who have been waiting since April have finally been deployed to 58 internship centers across the country. These interns are expected to report to their assigned centers by Thursday next week.
In addition to the deployment, there has been a change in the monthly allowances provided to the interns. Previously, interns were earning a monthly allowance of 2.4 million Shillings. However, the incoming interns will now receive a net monthly allowance of one million shillings.
“Government will deploy the 1901 medical interns within the available budget at a net monthly allowance of UGX 1,000,000 per intern to facilitate accommodation and feeding”, the letter shows in part.
This adjustment, according to Dr. Mwebesa, is due to the government’s decision to deploy the interns within the available budget, with the allocated funds being used to facilitate accommodation and feeding.
Dr. Herbert Luswata, the General Secretary of the Uganda Medical Association (UMA), acknowledged the positive step taken by the government in deploying the interns. However, he emphasized the importance of the government committing to paying interns their full allowance of 2.5 million shillings once resources become available.
Dr. Luswata clarified that the current acceptance of one million shillings is due to the limited resources currently available, but the President’s directive for higher allowances remains in effect.
The issue of intern allowances has long been a controversial topic, often leading to strikes by young doctors demanding higher pay. In response to these concerns, President Museveni made a directive for interns to be paid half of what their seniors earn. As a result, the previous batch of interns who completed their training in March were receiving 2.5 million shillings in allowances per month.
While the situation seems to be improving, Dr. Luswata emphasized that there is still uncertainty regarding the long-term policy on intern allowances.
He stated that the Uganda Medical Association is unsure whether the current allowance of one million shillings will be a permanent arrangement or if the government will eventually fulfill the President’s directive for higher allowances.
Overall, the deployment of medical interns to various training hospitals is a positive development that addresses the months-long delay and uncertainty surrounding their placement.