The Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Dr. Diana Atwine, has asked pre-intern medical doctors who are willing to bear the cost of their own deployment to apply online immediately for placement. The announcement came during a meeting held with the intern doctors on Tuesday.
In an official statement from the health ministry, Dr. Atwine clarified that while the ministry is eager to absorb the interns into its workforce, there are currently no funds available to cover their wages. This situation has posed a challenge in addressing the issue of unpaid medical interns.
Last month, President Yoweri Museveni directed the Ministry of Finance to allocate funds to pay medical interns and facilitate the deployment of those who have been waiting for nine months.
However, Dr. Atwine revealed that the Finance Ministry has not released any funds to address the matter as of yet.
Responding to the growing concerns, the medical interns federation issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Ministry of Health, demanding deployment dates and the release of deployment lists. With over 2000 interns who completed their medical degrees a year ago still awaiting assignment, the urgency for action has been mounting.
Acknowledging the situation, the Health Ministry admits that the delayed deployment of interns has disrupted their internship cycles, particularly as other students are approaching graduation from various medical schools.