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Medical interns blocked from ministry headquarters, demand deployment
Medical interns demonstrate outside the Ministry of Health head offices in Kampala on August 2, 2024. They demand being deployed for internships. PHOTO |ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- The interns had met with the Ministry officials earlier in the week, only to find that most of them were not on the deployment list.
A group of medical interns from various universities on Friday gathered outside the Ministry of Health Headquarters, with intent of peacefully marching to meet with officials about their delayed deployment. However, security operatives barred their entry, prompting chants of "we want deployment!"
The interns had met with the Ministry officials earlier in the week, only to find that most of them were not on the deployment list. This led them to write to the Deputy Speaker, who summoned the Health Minister to explain the situation.
Outside the headquarters, the interns met with Under Secretary Kenneth Akiiri, airing their grievances including; unemployment despite increased internship sites and budget, underdevelopment of health facilities, and inequitable representation of institutions on the internship list.
Alex Lwesabula, a pre-intern doctor, highlighted claims that the system is rigged, leading to under deployment of medical interns.
“There is underdevelopment of some health facilities and absence of interns at recently approved district hospitals. Pre-Interns of 2023 were not deployed, and those who finished in 2024 may not be deployed in 2025," he noted.
"Out of 2541 pre-interns doctors registered, only 1263 were successfully deployed. 1278 pre-interns remain undeployed. Furthermore, 12 doctors from the initial 1263 deployed were recalled by the Ministry of Health through a letter from the Director of Services, bringing the revised number of deployed pre-interns to 1251," Mr Lwesabula added.
"The Minister claims that there are insufficient facilities to accommodate all 2500 of us, but this is untrue. Last year, they successfully deployed 1900 interns despite having fewer facilities than they do now. In fact, they've added 10 more facilities to the list this year, yet still managed to deploy fewer interns," Derick Anembabazi, another pre-intern doctor, says.
Mr Akiiri assured the interns that a new list would be issued within three days, with selection based on completion year, budget availability, and specialist supervision. He urged calm, stating that all their issues would be resolved soon.
The interns' plight remains unresolved, with deployment officially starting on August 5th.
