The Government of Uganda has suspended a policy that would have restricted internship allowances to government-sponsored students, agreeing to pay all medical interns a monthly allowance of UGX 1 million, bringing an end to a standoff that had paralyzed the health sector.
The revelation was made by Health Minister Dr. Chris Baryomunsi during the August 18, 2026, plenary sitting, where he provided an update on the dispute between the government and medical interns who had refused to report for duty until their demands were met.
“We did agree and the cabinet recommended that we suspend that provision of facilitation for medical interns, meaning that we pay them as it has been. So, going forward, the current cohort of interns will be paid the same amount, that is UGX 1,268,929, and subject to tax, the net pay will be UGX 1 million. So that differentiation between government-sponsored and private-sponsored has been suspended,” Dr. Baryomunsi said.
Parliament was also informed that Cabinet agreed to suspend the policy that required medical students to only qualify for graduation upon completing internship. Dr. Baryomunsi argued that this demand was unfair to medical students who opt out of practicing medicine. The decision has been rescinded, with the government choosing to retain the status quo where internship will be undertaken after graduation.
“So the policy had proposed that when you complete the training, the academic training, you proceed for internship and then you graduate after internship. We have reversed it and said no, there should be a distinction between the academic qualification and qualification for practice,” he noted.
The Ministry of Health was also directed to report to Cabinet in six months with a paper detailing a study on exempting medical workers from paying income tax and how the government can absorb unemployed medical workers into the public healthcare system.
“There are many doctors who are qualifying but are not being absorbed by government or they are not getting employment. We look at how many doctors do we need to train in the country, how do we absorb all those medical graduates, what pay should we provide to them as a government,” Dr. Baryomunsi said.
He added, “The President is of the view and has vetted that we should not subject the pay of medical workers to tax, the way it is done to the soldiers and the army forces. So, cabinet directed me to prepare a report within six months, but I will do it within two months for the cabinet to address all these issues.”
Although the Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, welcomed the government’s decision to rescind its earlier policy, he asked the Ministry of Health to consider increasing the UGX 1 million allowance to medical interns, arguing that the amount is not in tandem with inflation and the cost of living.
He noted, “In fact, there was a time when government paid them a lot more for one financial year, and then went back to UGX 1 million, and so they are saying, surely with inflation and passage of time and so on, UGX 1 million five years ago is not the same today and it has been one of the issues they have been raising.”
The Ministry of Health revealed that internship centres have been expanded to include general district hospitals, thus bringing the total number of accredited internship centres to 77. A total of 2,490 interns have been deployed, including medical doctors, dentists, surgeons, pharmacists, and graduate nurses.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa asked the government to provide Parliament with timely updates on critical issues taken in Cabinet, noting, “There are critical decisions that you take in Cabinet, so I request that you at your Ministers, on such a critical decision, come and update the House so that we can add value where necessary.”
