The Ministry of Health has officially announced the long-awaited deployment of medical interns for the August 2025 to July 2026 cycle, bringing relief to thousands of young health professionals who had been left in limbo.
In a circular dated July 30th and signed by the Director General of Health Services, Dr. Charles Olaro, all accredited internship training centers have been instructed to receive and orient interns by August 3rd, 2025.
The deployment covers all graduates who completed their training in 2025 or earlier excluding diploma-level nurses and midwives upgrading their qualifications. That group was exempted from internship following a government resolution through the Human Capital Development Program.
According to the Uganda Medical Internship Committee (UMIC), over 1,900 interns including doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and allied health professionals are expected to report to more than 50 hospitals and training centers across the country. Many of them had been waiting between one to two and a half years for placement due to budget and administrative setbacks.
Frustration had grown among the affected graduates, with some questioning their career choices as delays dragged on.
Hospitals have now been directed to conduct on-site orientation programs before the interns begin their clinical rotations. Facilities are also required to submit lists of interns who report for duty by August 15th to ensure timely processing of their allowances.
The internship year is a mandatory step before medical graduates can be fully licensed to practice in Uganda.