Doctors Reject Health Training Policy

Medical professionals and student leaders have rejected the proposed National Education and Training for Health Policy, arguing that it threatens the welfare of medical interns, undermines healthcare training standards, and could worsen Uganda’s health workforce shortage.

Dr Frank Asiimwe, the President of Uganda Medical Association, and others accused the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education of introducing reforms without adequate consultation. 

He described the policy as “draconian, shambolic and dead-on arrival,” accusing policymakers of attempting to redefine medical interns as students rather than qualified graduates undertaking supervised professional practice. 

According to Dr. Asiimwe, interns have already completed all academic requirements for their degrees and should not be subjected to policies that delay recognition of their qualifications.    


He rejected the suggestion in the new policy requiring that doctors who have qualified from the different medical schools should be subjected to another year of internships at the Universities where they qualified from.


The policy has attracted criticism over provisions that could alter internship arrangements and remuneration for healthcare graduates. 

Dr. Asiimwe argued that internship has historically been recognised as a critical stage of professional training in Uganda’s healthcare system and warned against removing financial support for interns. 

He said doctors have traditionally received remuneration during internship and accused policymakers of attempting to reverse long-established practices. “We are dealing with human lives. Internship is supervised practice, not classroom learning. If the government chooses not to employ interns, that is its decision, but it should not impose what amounts to forced labour,” he said.   

They also questioned the legality of introducing major changes to medical training through policy directives rather than legislative processes.

They argued that any reforms affecting professional training, internship structures, and licensing requirements should be subjected to broad consultations involving universities, professional councils, and healthcare workers. 

He wondered whether a policy could override existing laws governing professional training and employment, warning that the proposed reforms could negatively affect the quality of healthcare delivery by demoralising young professionals entering the workforce.  



National Education and Training for Health Policy seeks to rationalize the health professional training framework and provide guidance and strategic direction on meeting the professional conduct of education for health. 

The drafters of the policy say it was designed to ensure the quality of health trainees, to provide adequate training materials and equipment, and to increase the quantity and quality of professional health trainers, among others. 

Dr. Asiimwe, together with the former Uganda Medical Association Secretary General, Dr. Ekwaro Obuku, was addressing a press conference convened by Uganda Law Society on Thursday. 

Dr. Obuku, now a law student, challenged the government’s justification for reducing support to interns, arguing that medical trainees generate significant value for the healthcare system.


Obuku said the annual cost of supporting approximately 2,000 interns is estimated at 24 billion shillings. He said the amount he described as modest compared to expenditures like the amount of money spent on Parliament and other sectors.



Using caesarean sections as an example, he argued that intern doctors already contribute substantially to healthcare delivery. He said an intern who performs at least one caesarean section per month generates medical services worth approximately 12 million shillings annually, adding that many interns perform far more procedures than that during their training. 


He argued that public hospitals depend heavily on interns who often work extended hours in emergency, maternity, and surgical units while facing occupational risks, including exposure to infectious diseases. 



Meanwhile, Dr. Stephen Lutoti, President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda, said the policy should not be implemented in its current form because it was developed without adequate consultation among key stakeholders. 

Lutoti said the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda rejects the internship-related provisions and wants implementation suspended pending wider consultations.

According to Lutoti, the policy itself acknowledges major challenges facing health training in Uganda, including shortages of supervisors, internship training centres, equipment, medicines, and welfare support for interns.