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Govt to deploy 1,900 medical interns by next month

A police officer chases pre-medical intern doctors as they marched to the Ministry of Health in Kampala to protest the delay to deploy them for internship on June 7, 2023. PHOTO / ABUBAKER LUBOWA. 

By  Promise Twinamukye

Reporter

Daily Monitor

What you need to know:

  • Each of the interns will earn a monthly allowance of Shs1 million to facilitate accommodation and feeding

The Ministry of Health said Friday that it had been cleared to deploy at least 1,901 medical interns at its 58 internship centers across the country.
“Subsequently, Ministry of Health has released a deployment list for the interns under revised terms as guided by Government. The delayed deployment was occasioned by factors beyond the control of Ministry of Health,” the director general health services, Dr Henry Mwebesa said in a Friday morning statement.
According to him, each of the interns will earn a monthly allowance of Shs1 million to facilitate accommodation and feeding.
“All the Medical Interns are expected to report to their various training centers by August 3, 20123. The respective Hospital Directors will issue the Interns with deployment letters and organize for their induction,” Dr Mwebesa added.

READ: Ministry of Health needs Shs80b to deploy medical interns

Dr Mwebesa's letter comes after pre-medical interns staged several demonstrations protesting their delayed deployment. 

Related

Medical interns are qualified doctors, pharmacists and nurses who need a one-year placement in hospitals to get permanent practising licences from their respective professional bodies. Some medical interns have reportedly been waiting for deployment for more than 10 months now.

The interns are essential in the health system due to the low number of medical workers employed by the government.

In May, a Cabinet meeting had resolved that payment for medical interns, which normally ranges from Shs1.5 million to Shs2.5 million, should be maintained to keep the young medical workers motivated as they handle patients.

The Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng last month told Parliament that her ministry needed Shs80.4 billion to deploy the interns.

In the headlines