Museveni also cautioned universities against commercialising medical education at the expense of quality, warning that substandard training compromises the competence of healthcare professionals.
President Yoweri Museveni has pledged Shs125 billion to boost the financial welfare of medical doctors through a Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisation (SACCO), while announcing a tax exemption for medical personnel and calling for a shift towards preventive healthcare.
Museveni said the investment in the doctors’ SACCO is intended to improve the welfare of medical professionals, support their further education and address financial pressures that have contributed to moonlighting, where doctors divide their working hours between public health facilities and private establishments.
He made the commitments on Friday, November 13, while presiding over the 10th Uganda Medical Association (UMA) Grand Doctors’ Conference at Soroti University in Soroti district.
The conference was held under the theme, “Harnessing the Numbers and Quality for Socioeconomic Transformation and Global Health.”
The President also challenged medical professionals to develop a cost-effective national health strategy that prioritises disease prevention instead of spending heavily on treating illnesses that could have been avoided.
He observed that about 80% of illnesses in Uganda are preventable, arguing that greater investment in immunisation, proper nutrition, personal hygiene, safe water, sanitation and public education would significantly reduce the country’s disease burden.
Museveni cited Uganda’s progress in eliminating measles and polio as evidence of the effectiveness of preventive healthcare, noting that the national immunisation programme had expanded beyond its initial focus on six killer diseases, which previously accounted for approximately 96,000 child deaths annually.
He also identified poor hygiene, inadequate nutrition, early marriages, alcoholism and unsafe food handling as factors contributing to preventable illnesses.
The President particularly warned against consuming mould-contaminated groundnuts, saying they contain harmful substances associated with cancer.
He urged medical professionals to take health education beyond hospitals by engaging communities through radio programmes conducted in local languages.
He proposed that district health officers dedicate at least one radio programme every two weeks to educating the public about disease prevention and healthy living.
On the welfare of medical workers, Museveni announced that the government would remove taxes on doctors’ salaries, extending to medical personnel an exemption similar to that enjoyed by security officers, including soldiers, police and prison officers.
“I have already agreed with them on the tax waiver. We shall exempt medical personnel from paying taxes because we do not tax policemen, prison officers or soldiers. Why, then, should we tax doctors and other medical workers? Let them retain their current earnings,” he said.
Museveni challenged doctors to abandon moonlighting, saying the practice could be addressed by improving their remuneration and welfare.
He also endorsed proposals for annual meetings of medical professionals and pledged government support towards establishing doctors’ shops similar to army shops. However, he advised that the shops should concentrate on essential commodities, including building materials, rather than non-essential items such as alcohol and perfumes.
On specialised medical training, the President directed the government to facilitate the training of at least 200 geriatric specialists to address the shortage of doctors specialising in the healthcare needs of elderly people.
He revealed that Uganda currently has only three to four geriatric specialists, while the country has approximately 12 paediatric cardiologists to manage congenital heart conditions in children.
He challenged medical training institutions to identify other critical areas requiring specialised expertise and assured them of government support in developing the necessary human resource capacity.
Museveni also cautioned universities against commercialising medical education at the expense of quality, warning that substandard training compromises the competence of healthcare professionals.
The Vice-President, Jessica Alupo, commended Museveni’s leadership and political commitment to improving Uganda’s health sector, saying a healthy population is essential for wealth creation, productivity, employment and socioeconomic transformation.
She highlighted the expansion of the national immunisation programme from six vaccines targeting killer diseases to the current 13 vaccines, describing it as an important milestone in protecting children’s lives.
Soroti University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Robert Ikoja-Odongo commended the government for investing in the institution, saying the funding had enabled the completion of an academic block that has eased the shortage of teaching space.
However, he appealed for additional lecture blocks and laboratory facilities to accommodate the growing student population.
He also appreciated government support towards establishing a teaching and regional referral hospital at the university, revealing that the institution had allocated 50 acres of land for the project.
Ikoja-Odongo said encroachers had been removed and an irregular land title cancelled, clearing the way for the construction of the Ministry of Health-managed facility.
He further highlighted the establishment of the Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology at the university, saying it would strengthen specialised training and research, including the production of radioisotopes used in cancer treatment.
Meanwhile, UMA president Dr Frank Asiimwe proposed a Strategic Compact for Health Sector Reforms to strengthen collaboration between government and medical professionals and accelerate the transformation of Uganda’s healthcare system.
He said the proposed compact would provide a framework for strategic cooperation, drawing on the expertise, experience and accountability of medical professionals to address persistent challenges in the health sector.
Asiimwe said UMA brings together close to 15,000 doctors across 14 branches and remains committed to strengthening professional discipline, accountability, mentorship and collaboration with government.
He acknowledged improvements in the health sector, including increased life expectancy, reduced maternal mortality, improved health financing and strengthened capacity to respond to disease outbreaks.
He said life expectancy had risen to 68 years and cited the growth of domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing and kidney transplantation at Mulago National Referral Hospital as important milestones towards greater medical self-reliance.
The UMA president also announced that the association’s National Executive Council had awarded Museveni its highest institutional distinction, honorary membership number UMAHM00001, in recognition of his contribution to the medical profession and Uganda’s health sector.
Presenting the medical fraternity’s priorities, Asiimwe also provided a detailed breakdown of the Shs125 billion requested from the President to support the doctors’ SACCO.
Prof. Francis Omaswa, a distinguished medical scholar and founding chairperson of UMA, called for increased investment in primary healthcare and community-based health services.
He urged political leaders at all levels to prioritise healthcare and mobilise communities to participate in and take responsibility for health services.
Omaswa cited Uganda’s response to COVID-19, particularly the activation of village COVID-19 task forces, as an example of how community participation can strengthen public health interventions.
He also called for stronger collaboration between government ministries, arguing that health considerations should be integrated into sectors such as water, education and housing rather than being treated as the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Health.
On medical education, Omaswa urged authorities to enforce professional standards and close institutions that fail to comply with guidelines set by the Medical and Dental Practitioners Council and the National Council for Higher Education.
He warned that inadequate training could produce health professionals whose competence, attitudes and conduct compromise patient care.
