Medical interns go on strike over pay rise

The Uganda Medical Association (UMA) has announced that interns countrywide have laid down their tools due to government’s failure to enhance their salary and address welfare issues as promised.

Addressing journalists in Kampala yesterday, Dr Samuel Oledo, the new UMA president, said the strike will have catastrophic effects on patients because the interns are critical in service delivery.

Dr Oledo warned that if the government fails to urgently implement the promises it made to both interns and senior medical cadres as had been directed by President Museveni, doctors will soon join the strike.

“These [medical interns] are our first line workers in hospitals, meaning whenever you go to a hospital, the first person [medical worker] you [patient] set your eyes on is a medical intern,” he said.

There are about 1,403 medical interns working in 42 hospitals across the country, according to the Federation for Uganda Medical Interns (FUMI). FUMI is comprised of doctors, dental surgeons, pharmacists, graduate nurses and midwives. 

They are deployed under the Ministry of Health to undertake a one-year clinical practice in hospitals to get practising licence from their respective councils.

“We have tried to engage government [on the issues of medical interns], our predecessors engaged government and many things were promised to an extent that they [doctors] met the President,” Dr Oledo said.

Dr Lillian Nabwire, the president of FUMI, said Mr Museveni had promised them that starting July this year, the salary of medical interns would be enhanced.

 “The intern doctors [according to President’s promise], were supposed to get a gross salary of Shs2.5 million [up from Shs750,000]. Our graduate intern nurses and pharmacists are also supposed to get Shs2.4 million,” she said.

“Unfortunately, ever since that [written] directive was given [by the President], it has not been implemented,” she added.

Dr Nbawire said the meeting with the President happened in June, a month after interns went on strike. 
President Museveni had in an August 9 letter directed the  increments.

The medical interns strike comes three months after UMA in an August 6 letter gave the government an ultimatum of 90 days to enhance their salaries as promised.

The UMA had also asked the government to improve physical infrastructure in public health facilities and provide more ambulances for Covid-19 case management, among others .

Ms Margaret Muhanga, the State Minister for Primary Healthcare, last week blamed the delay to effect salary increment on the Finance ministry.

“The Ministry of Health wrote to Finance [ministry] to provide that salary enhancement that the President promised them. We are just waiting on Finance,” she said. 

Ms Muhanga didn’t comment on other issues the doctors raised in the August 6 letter.

However, yesterday, Mr Jim Mugunga, the Finance spokesperson, said the Ministry of Health should prove that they wrote to Finance.

“We avail money through the budget and all enhancements are considered through the appropriation process. Any fund that is required would have been requested for by the sector in time and the sector knows what to do to access those funds where they are available,” he said.

“This is an issue that the sector should have been able to manage in accordance to laid down processes. The Ministry of Health should prove whether they wrote to Finance,” Mr Mugunga added.