FDC Urges Ministry of Health to Withdraw Ultimatum to Medical Interns

The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) is calling on the Ministry of Health to retract its deadline for medical interns to report to their assigned duty stations. The ministry had set August 14 as the final date, after which interns failing to report would forfeit their placements.

Hassan Kaps Fungaroo, the FDC’s deputy president and MP for Obongi County, has labeled the directive as “reckless.” He contends that sending interns to work without pay, essential support, or even basic facilitation puts them and the patients they serve at significant risk.

“Sending an intern to run a ward without pay, without support, and without even a guarantee that they will be facilitated is not deploying them to save lives. It is putting both patients and interns at risk,” Fungaroo stated, emphasizing the crucial role interns play, particularly in understaffed government hospitals.

FDC highlights that the interns’ current protest is rooted in concerns over the National Education and Training for Health Policy and a perceived lack of equal welfare and allowances for both government-sponsored and privately-sponsored interns. The party points out that medical interns are often the backbone of services in wards, theatres, and maternity units in public health facilities.

To address the situation, the FDC proposes that the government allocate Shs35.7 billion, as estimated by the Ministry of Health itself, for intern facilitation. They suggest drawing these funds from government and parliamentary savings, including over Shs24 billion identified from suspended public holiday functions. The party also seeks a written commitment from the ministry ensuring equitable treatment and allowances for all interns, irrespective of their sponsorship.

This demand comes amid a continued boycott by medical interns who are protesting their welfare, allowance disparities, and overall deployment conditions. FDC questions the government’s expenditure on medical treatment abroad while struggling to support its own medical trainees.