Government has reassured Parliament that medical interns deployed to public health facilities will receive their monthly allowances, easing uncertainty that had surrounded the 2026/27 internship programme.
The assurance was given on August 4, 2026, after Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi raised concerns in Parliament that newly deployed interns were being asked to report to duty without confirmation of the Shs1 million monthly facilitation they had historically received.
The Ministry of Health has deployed more than 2,000 medical interns to health facilities across the country for the internship period that began in August. The latest placement exercise covers 2,417 interns, including graduates from Makerere University, Kampala International University, Gulu University, Busitema University, Soroti University, Lira University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology, among others.
Government Chief Whip Ruth Aceng told Parliament that the change in the internship policy would not affect government-sponsored medical students, who would continue to receive government support. She said the interns affected by the facilitation concerns were privately sponsored graduates, whose support was still under consideration.
The development follows months of uncertainty over the future of medical internship allowances. In June, government announced plans to discontinue the payment, arguing that internship should be treated as part of professional training rather than employment. The proposal triggered criticism from medical professionals and interns, who argued that graduates perform essential clinical duties in already stretched public health facilities.
The Uganda Medical Association also opposed proposals to replace monetary facilitation with measures such as lunch, arguing that interns require broader welfare support given the demanding nature of their work.
Medical internship is a mandatory one-year period of supervised clinical training that graduates must complete before obtaining permanent practising licences from their professional councils. During the placement, interns participate in patient care under the supervision of senior medical professionals.
The Shs1 million monthly allowance has historically been the net amount received by an intern. Ministry of Health figures presented to Parliament show that an intern costs government Shs1.3 million per month when Pay-As-You-Earn tax is included, translating into Shs15.6 million annually.
The financial commitment comes as Uganda continues to face pressure to expand its health workforce while managing limited public resources. Parliament has previously raised concerns over delays in deploying interns, with limited funding contributing to backlogs of graduates waiting for placement.
The latest government assurance therefore provides relief to government-sponsored interns who have reported to their duty stations, while the question of support for privately sponsored interns remains part of the wider policy debate.
For the health sector, the issue goes beyond allowances. Timely deployment and adequate facilitation of interns are closely linked to staffing levels in public hospitals, where young medical professionals contribute to frontline service delivery while completing the practical training required for full professional registration.
