John AdoyiIntern doctors in Uganda under Federation of Uganda Medical Interns (FUMI) have given the government until 1st of December to pay the 3-months arrears owed to its members.
The federation through its president, Bill Adrati said they have met with the management of Uganda’s health ministry to ensure that all arrears from July 2023 to December 2023 are paid by the 1st of December.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAccording to Adrati, if arrears from October to December are not released, all intern doctors “will not proceed with work because that is endangering the life of patients.”
A Medical Internship is a year-long training program designed for individuals who have graduated from university with degrees in medicine and surgery, pharmacy, nursing, or midwifery.
This postgraduate training, conducted under supervision, concludes in the issuance of a certificate upon successful completion. Subsequently, graduates are eligible to apply for a medical license, allowing them to practice as professionals in Uganda.
According to Uganda’s Daily Monitor, the country’s health ministry in July assigned over 1,900 medical students to it 58 internship centres after protests from medical students that graduated but did not get internship spot for a while.
Adrati noted that these Interns serve as frontline health workers who do 60 Percent of the works, hence deserve their pay.
This is not the first time Medical Interns in Uganda have gone on strike or threaten strike over salary issues. In May 2021, Medical interns went on strike to protest failure of government to honour the promise of increasing their gross pay to Shs 3 million (644 thousand Naira) from SHS 950 thousand (203 thousand Naira).
In November 2022, Medical Interns in Uganda also went on strike as Ebola outbreak ravaged the country. They asked that the Government pay their September and October arrears.
Strike warnings were also issued in January 2023 and also May 2023.
However, In May 2023, Uganda’s cabinet meeting resolved that payment for medical interns, which normally ranges from Shs1.5m (322 thousand Naira) to 2.5m (537 thousand Naira), should be maintained to keep the interns motivated as they carry out their duty.
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