Cabinet has suspended, for the current cohort, a contested policy that would have introduced different facilitation rates for government-sponsored and privately sponsored medical interns.
Minister of Health Dr Chris Baryomunsi announced the decision, saying all medical interns in the current cohort will continue receiving the existing monthly facilitation.
A total of 2,490 medical interns deployed across 77 accredited internship centres will therefore receive UGX 1.2 million per month, subject to tax.
The suspension applies specifically to the current cohort of medical interns, meaning the existing facilitation arrangement will remain in place as the government handles concerns surrounding the new policy.
The development comes after medical interns raised concerns over the proposed changes to their facilitation, with the dispute recently escalating into a standoff between the interns and government.
The interns had previously been urged to report to their assigned health facilities as government worked to address their grievances.
The Cabinet decision now means that, for the current cohort, government-sponsored and privately sponsored interns will continue under the same UGX 1.2 million monthly facilitation arrangement, subject to applicable taxation.
The move is expected to ease some of the tension surrounding the internship programme and allow the affected medical graduates to continue their mandatory clinical training while discussions on the facilitation policy continue.
