Pre-medical interns give govt one-day ultimatum 

Police arrest pre-medical Interns on May 15, 2023 at the College of Health Sciences in Mulago, Kampala, before they could hold a demonstration over their delayed deployment by the government. PHOTO/ABUBAKER LUBOWA

Over 2,000 pre-medical interns have issued the ministry of health a one-day ultimatum to urgently release an official communication about the status of their pending deployment in Ugandan hospitals.

The current cohort was expected to be deployed in hospitals by April 3, according to the pre-medical interns. However, the ministry had financial constraints hence the delay.

“We have given the ministry of health 24 hours from June 6 to respond to our demands and if they fail, we as leaders of pre-medical interns shall go back and consult all colleagues to decide on what next,” Alex Luswata, one of the pre medical interns said while addressing journalists at Galloway House, Mulago in Kampala on Tuesday. 

Luswata said after a cabinet engagement and decision to deploy medical interns on May 15, they have been trying to engage different government agencies and ministries,  including the ministry of health and ministry of finance but none of them has ever responded to their plight.

“We are depressed and we are left to ask ourselves what we supposed to do… How long must the sick wait to be attended to? Must parents of this nation continue selling off the little they have to take their children to medical schools?” Luswata asked.

The pre-medical interns also claim that they asked the ministry of finance to release funds for payment of allowances to all deployed medical interns.

In addition, they say that they asked Parliament Speaker Anita Among and President Museveni to directly intervene and follow up on their directives to ensure allocation of funds to pay allowances of all deployed medical interns. 

“Museveni, you told us your ‘Bazzukkulu’ (the grandchildren) to do sciences and we did them but we are not yet deployed to attend our compulsory internship program. Our careers are at stake because we can’t even go for the masters program,” Nankya Shanitah, another pre medical intern noted. 

She said they have been waiting for an official communication from the ministry of health about this issue but nothing has ever been communicated to them. 

“We are stranded and frustrated. What should we do now that we have spent almost a year at home? What should our parents do since they even sold off their property to educate us?” she added. 

On May 15, cabinet resolved that the ministry of finance should release money to facilitate the deployment of pre-medical interns. 

Asked to comment on the matter, ministry of health spokesperson Emmanuel Ainebyona Tuesday evening told Monitor that his “ministry is waiting for official communication from the ministry of finance.”

Efforts to get comments from his finance ministry counterpart Jim Mugunga were futile since none of our repeated calls and messages on his contacts went unanswered. 

Additionally, both the ministry of finance permanent secretary Ramathan Ggoobi and finance minister Matia Kasaija were unavailable on phone by press time.