Minister of Health Chris Baryomunsi addressing Parliament

Photo credit: Sarah Achen

By : Sarah Achen

The Government is expected to update Parliament next week on the status of government-sponsored medical interns following ongoing consultations over their deployment and welfare.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, told Parliament on Wednesday that consultations on the matter would be concluded next week. “Next week, we will complete the consultation on the medical interns,” Baryomunsi said.

The Minister made the remarks during plenary while responding to the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi, who had raised a matter of national importance concerning the welfare and deployment of medical interns.

Baryomunsi urged medical interns who have been deployed to report to their assigned duty stations, warning that failure to do so could result in them losing their placements. “We call on the interns to report to the stations as earlier stated because if they don’t report, they risk forfeiting their placements,” he said.

He also appealed to the interns to disregard calls from external actors encouraging them to take industrial action, assuring them that the Government appreciates their contribution and remains committed to paying their allowances.

The Government had directed more than 2,000 deployed medical interns to report to their assigned regional and national referral hospitals, including Mulago National Specialised Hospital, by August 14, 2026, or risk forfeiting their placements.

The directive comes amid a dispute over the deployment of medical interns and concerns surrounding proposed changes to the internship programme, including the integration of medical training into university frameworks and changes to the payment of monthly allowances.

Meanwhile, Ssenyonyi called on the Government to provide clear and consistent guidance on the welfare and deployment of medical interns.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, directed the Minister to present the matter to Cabinet on Monday and subsequently return to Parliament with a clear update. “When do you anticipate concluding consultations on matters of medical interns?” Tayebwa asked.

The Government is expected to brief the House next week on the outcome of the consultations and the way forward for the affected medical interns.