Drew Ddembe

I am a #Ugandan primarily interested in #social and #political issues relevant to Uganda. I have been providing #sociopolitical #commentary since 2004

[Drew Ddembe @ddembe]

🚨 URGENT: Uganda, we are at a crossroads! The Floating Clinic Ssese is almost a reality, but we are running out of time. We need to raise $200,000 NOW to secure the matching grant from the Rotary Foundation. If we miss this deadline, the matching funds will be withdrawn! This isn't just a boat; it's a mobile hospital for 100,000 islanders. Let’s make this happen, Uganda! ⛴️🇺🇬🏥 (1/10)

[Uganda Medical Association @TheUMAofficial]

Let us be honest: the issue is not that medical interns are too many.
It is not that Uganda has no money.
It is that medical interns are not being treated as a priority.

Consider the choices being made:

• Parliament keeps growing.
Parliament’s budget reportedly doubled to about 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟭. 𝟮 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻. The money going to 529 MPs rose from about 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟰𝟬𝟬𝗯 in 2020/21 to 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟳𝟰𝟰.𝟰𝗯 in 2026/27, an increase of about 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟯𝟰𝟰.𝟰𝗯.
What direct return does this give the common Ugandan in a crowded hospital?

• Two offices alone tell the story.
The Speaker and Deputy Speaker offices had about 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟳.𝟭𝗯 combined in 2020/21. In 2026/27, they stand at about 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟱𝟬.𝟮𝗯 , an increase of about 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟰𝟯.𝟭𝗯 for only two offices.
That increase alone can pay 𝟯𝟬𝟬𝟬 interns 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟭𝗺 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿, with money left.

• Questionable spending continues.
In 2025/26, selected Speaker’s office lines reportedly included 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟮.𝟰𝗯 for foreign travel, 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟵𝟲𝟲𝗺 for fuel, 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟰.𝟴𝗯 for incapacity, death benefits and funeral expenses, and 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟱.𝟮𝗯 for donations. Total: about 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟭𝟰.𝟮𝗯. What lasting public health return does this produce compared with doctors on wards?

• RDC structures are being funded.
Uganda reportedly has 146 RDCs, 170 Deputy RDCs and 432 Assistant RDCs, total 748 officials. Their proposed salary enhancement requires an extra 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟮𝟵.𝟬𝟳𝟵𝗯 every year.
Add the reported 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟯𝟬𝗯 for LC I to LC V political leader facilitation, and that is about 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟱𝟵𝗯. In what way does this benefit the common Ugandan?

• Donations are funded.
State House donations reportedly consumed 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟳𝟱𝟭𝗯 over seven financial years. In 2023/24 alone, donations were budgeted at 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟭𝟴.𝟭𝗯, but actual spending reached 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟴𝟬.𝟭𝟴𝗯. If tens and hundreds of billions can be found for donations, how does 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟮𝟰𝗯 to 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟯𝟲𝗯 for over 2,000 medical interns become impossible?

• Health was not protected with the same urgency.
The Ministry of Health vote fell from about 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟭. 𝟲𝟵𝟯 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 in FY2023/24 to about 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟭. 𝟯𝟰𝟰 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 in FY2024/25, a reduction of about 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟯𝟰𝟵𝗯. Even the 2025/26 estimate of 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟭.𝟱𝟲𝟰 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 remains below the 2023/24 level. Yet health is the sector that directly touches mothers in labour, accident victims, children with malaria, emergency patients and families in public hospitals.

Now compare:

• 2,000 interns × Shs1m × 12 months = 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟮𝟰𝗯 per year
• 2,500 interns × Shs1m × 12 months = 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟯𝟬𝗯 per year
• 3,000 interns × Shs1m × 12 months = 𝗦𝗵𝘀 𝟯𝟲𝗯 per year

Even using the Ministry of Health’s own gross figure of Shs15.6m per intern per year, the reported 2,706 eligible interns would require about Shs42.2b. That is still small compared with what is being found for political comfort and administrative expansion.

That money is not a handout.

✨ It avails doctors on wards.
✨ It keeps emergency units covered.
✨ It supports maternity care.
✨ It fills staffing gaps in regional referrals.
✨ It protects patients.

So let us stop pretending.

This is not a numbers problem.
This is not a money problem.
It is a priority problem.

Medical interns are doctors under apprenticeship, not free labour!

#InternsNotSlaves

[Drew Ddembe @ddembe]

This is a war crime!

[Muhammad Mazen @mhmd_s09]

One of the most brutal scenes in human history has been leaked.

Footage from an Israeli aircraft shows thousands of starving Palestinians running towards an aid truck, before it bombs and kills them all.

A video that the world must never forget.

[Agather Atuhaire @AAgather]

Being comfortable spending billions on cars, on donations, on entertainment, treatment abroad, etc but not just about 20 Billion on a group of people that caters for over 50% of the medical needs of 45 million Ugandans is another proof that we are on our own. That they don’t give a **** whether we live or die. That we pay taxes to cater for their insatiable extravagant desires and lifestyle but not for the government to provide even the basic services! #PayMedicalInterns

[Samwise Gamgee @Sambannz]

In April 2026,Parliament passed an additional Ugx 5,636,000,000 to cover MPs' medical insurance&treatment abroad.
Parliament already had Ugx 12,195,800,000 allocated to medical expenses for MPs.

~ Ugx 17,831,800,000 in total

But we can't pay medical interns!
#PayMedicalInterns

[Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi Muzukulu wa Bityo @CKyobutungi]

The budget for communications and public affairs of the Speaker of Parliament is enough to pay all interns in a year
#PayAllInterns
#PayMedicalInterns
#InternsNotSlaves

[Dr. Bireete Sarah @SarahBireete]

Uganda’s Unpaid Medical Interns: A Crisis at the Heart of Public Healthcare

Uganda’s public health system is facing a deepening moral, legal, and policy crisis following the government’s refusal to pay medical interns. At the center of this dispute are young doctors who, after years of intense and costly training, are expected to shoulder the backbone of hospital care, without pay. The decision has far-reaching consequences for healthcare delivery, medical education, and the future of the profession in Uganda

Medical interns in Uganda are not observers or trainees in a casual sense. They are frontline healthcare providers. In many public hospitals, interns cover critical staffing gaps, run wards, attend to emergencies, clerk patients, prescribe under supervision, and provide round-the-clock care.

In practice, interns do most of the regular medical work that keeps hospitals functional, especially in regional referral hospitals where shortages of senior doctors are chronic. Demotivating interns through non-payment directly undermines patient care, increases preventable deaths, and overburdens the few fully employed doctors who remain. Refusing to pay interns while continuing to rely on their labor amounts to institutionalized exploitation.

Before internship, a Ugandan medical doctor spends at least five years at university, followed by internship as a mandatory requirement for full registration. Medical education is among the most demanding and expensive courses in the country. By the time students reach internship, many come from families already financially exhausted. Internship pay is therefore not a luxury, it is basic subsistence, covering rent, food, transport, among others.

Denying interns pay after such prolonged investment effectively turns medical training into a pathway of debt, distress, and despair. The situation poses a sharp dilemma, especially for government-sponsored medical students.

On one hand, the state argues fiscal constraints and frames internship as “training.” On the other hand, it compels graduates to serve, posts them to hospitals, assigns shifts, and disciplines them as workers. This contradiction raises fundamental questions. If internship is compulsory national service, why is it unpaid? Why should interns offer an unpaid service in government hospitals? What’s government’s commitment to universal healthcare?

Uganda’s approach stands in stark contrast to practices across much of Africa. In Kenya, Medical interns are salaried government employees, with formal contracts and monthly pay. In South Africa, Interns receive structured remuneration and are fully integrated into the public service payroll. In Rwanda, Internship is funded as part of national health workforce planning, with clear state responsibility. In Ghana, House officers (interns) are paid and recognized as essential health workers.

In these countries, governments acknowledge a basic truth: you cannot sustain a health system on unpaid labor.
Uganda’s refusal to pay interns risks isolating the country, accelerating brain drain, and making medicine unattractive to talented students, especially those from poor backgrounds.

The unpaid internship policy has consequences beyond medical interns themselves. Patients suffer from demoralized staff and service disruptions
Rural and public hospitals face collapse as interns withdraw labor. Medical students reconsider their career choices or plan to leave the country. Public trust in health governance erodes.

Uganda cannot claim commitment to universal healthcare while refusing to pay the very doctors who keep hospitals running. Internship is not charity work; it is essential labor performed after years of specialized training. Government decision undermines its health system, exploits young professionals, and jeopardizes the future of medical education in Uganda.

Paying medical interns is not merely a budgetary decision; it is a test of justice, foresight, and national priorities.

[Martha Karua @MarthaKarua]

If Ebola is considered too dangerous for Americans, why should Kenyans accept that risk?

Why is Ruto making decisions that affect the health and safety of millions of Kenyans as if he’s running his own Sugoi farm?

Major decisions must follow due process, involve public participation, and be subjected to parliamentary oversight.

Wenye nchi must never be treated as an afterthought in decisions that directly affect their lives.
@SpiceFMKE

[Owen Jones @owenjonesjourno]

Israel announces that surviving Palestinians will be expelled from Gaza.

No headlines.

No statements of outrage from politicians.

Silence.

[Dr. Bireete Sarah @SarahBireete]

Why can’t government re-allocate the money saved from public celebrations (24BN) to @MinofHealthUG for medical interns @henrymusasizi1 @CHRISBARYOMUNS1 @ObothOboth @Thomas_Tayebwa ? Medical interns do so much work in hospitals and it’s only fair that they should be paid for their labour @TheUMAofficial

[Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi Muzukulu wa Bityo @CKyobutungi]

We are poor country that can't afford to pay a whole 2000 interns the very huge sum of $3200 per year (each).
We are also a poor country that has enough money to spend on all sorts of useless things.
We are also a poor country in common sense
#PayAllInterns
#PayMedicalInterns
#InternsNotSlaves

[Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi Muzukulu wa Bityo @CKyobutungi]

The powers that be are hell bent on destroying the medical profession in Uganda.
Unregulated, subpar training, underfunded health infrastructure, an "anything goes" approach to health systems...and a quick-fix policy to the question of internship... all these are a recipe for disaster.
The Ugandan population is growing fast and a serious country would see absorbing 2000 well-trained doctors annually as a priority.
#PayAllInterns
#internsnotslaves
#PayMedicalInterns

[Drew Ddembe @ddembe]

Support the Federation for Uganda Medical Interns (FUMI) and the UMA. Junior doctors earned their qualification through merit. They earn their wages every single shift. Unpaid internship is wage theft, plain and simple. #StandWithUgandanDoctors

[Drew Ddembe @ddembe]

5 years of intense medical school completed. Exams passed. Yet the government holds your degree certificate ransom until you work a year for free. This is not education. This is forced labor and institutional wage theft. #PayUgandanMedicalInterns

[Drew Ddembe @ddembe]

Uganda's political elite fly abroad for premium medical care using taxpayer funds while underfunding local clinics. Now they want the junior doctors running those very clinics to work for free. The hypocrisy is absolute. #HealthEquity