The Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) party has welcomed the government’s decision to continue sponsoring medical interns but expressed concern that the agreed remuneration remains inadequate and does not address the underlying challenges in the health sector.
Addressing journalists at a press conference on Wednesday, August 19th, 2026, at Uganda House, the party Spokesperson, Sharon Arach Oyat said the decision had brought an end to the recent standoff involving 2,417 medical interns deployed for the 2026/2027 period.
She noted that while government had finally agreed to facilitate the interns, the offer falls significantly short of their demands.
Interns had sought UGX 4 million per month, but government proposed a gross salary of UGX 1,268,929, resulting in a net pay of approximately UGX 1 million after statutory deductions.
“A monthly pay of UGX 1,000,000 is grossly inadequate and a mere drop in the ocean,” Oyat said, pointing to the high cost of rented accommodation, rising transport fares, and soaring food prices.
The spokesperson warned that the current arrangement is limited to this cohort and lacks a sustainable long-term policy on interns’ welfare and remuneration.
Without such a policy, she said, similar industrial unrest is likely to recur next year.
Oyat reminded government of its earlier commitment to make remuneration for science professionals more attractive in order to retain staff and improve service delivery.
She cautioned that failure to improve welfare would accelerate brain drain, leaving ordinary Ugandans to suffer in already understaffed public health facilities.
UPC urged government to reconsider the welfare of medical interns within the broader context of strengthening Uganda’s health system, arguing that realistic measures are needed to restore stability to the medical profession and reduce the frequency of industrial action.
