Medical workers vow to strike for not being deployed

Henry Mugenyi

Doctors under their umbrella body, the Uganda Medical Association have questioned government's decision not to implement the presidential directive on employing all medical workers who served during the Covid-19 pandemic

In a press briefing, they said the funds allocated for the deployment of more 400 health workers to fill the human resource gaps in government are not enough and they will soon hit the streets in a peaceful protest for what they term as hypocrisy.

Uganda Medical Association brings together over 8,000 doctors distributed across regional referral hospitals and those in the Diaspora for the proper provision of quality health care services.

In the 2022/2023 budget, government allocated Shs 495 billion to enhance salaries of health workers and to recruit more 400 health workers to cover part of the human resource gaps in government health facilities.

According to the president of UMA, Dr. Samuel Oledo, all medical workers that were deployed during the Covid-19 pandemic, must be deployed before the 20th of this month.

He said Uganda has a total of 1900 Doctors that are not employed being one of the countries on the continent with the high levels of unemployment of medical workers.

The human resource gap in public health facilities is huge.

According the secretary general of UMA, Dr. Herbert Luswata, government needs to come up with a proper payment structure for all health workers from the lower cadres to the consultants to avoid discrepancies that might lead to the demoralisation of a section of health workers.

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