In Summary: President Museveni also backed tax relief for medical personnel and called for greater investment in disease prevention, while directing government to facilitate the training of at least 200 geriatric specialists to address Uganda’s shortage of doctors specialising in elderly care.
Soroti City, Uganda — President Yoweri Museveni has reaffirmed his commitment to support the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisation (SACCO) with Shs125 billion, backed tax relief for medical personnel and called for a shift towards preventive healthcare.
Museveni made the remarks while presiding over the 10th Uganda Medical Association Grande Doctors’ Conference at Soroti University on Friday, November 13, 2026, held under the theme, “Harnessing the Numbers and Quality for Socioeconomic Transformation and Global Health”.
The proposed SACCO funding is intended to improve the welfare of medical professionals, support further education and provide access to affordable credit and business opportunities.
The President had earlier pledged the Shs125 billion during a meeting with UMA leaders and representatives of medical interns at State House Entebbe on October 9, 2026. He described the proposed funding as a one-time intervention to strengthen the financial independence of health workers.
At the Soroti conference, Museveni challenged medical professionals to develop a cost-effective national health strategy that prioritises preventing diseases rather than spending heavily on treating illnesses that could have been avoided.
He estimated that about 80 per cent of illnesses in Uganda were preventable and argued that greater investment in public health education and basic interventions could reduce the country’s disease burden.
The President identified immunisation, proper nutrition, personal hygiene, safe water, sanitation and public education as key measures for preventing disease.
Citing Uganda’s progress in controlling measles and polio, he said the expansion of the national immunisation programme from an initial focus on six killer diseases, which he said accounted for approximately 96,000 child deaths annually, demonstrated the importance of preventive healthcare.
He also identified poor hygiene, inadequate nutrition, early marriages, alcoholism and unsafe food handling as factors contributing to preventable illnesses.
Museveni cautioned against consuming mould-contaminated groundnuts, warning that they may contain harmful substances associated with cancer.
He further 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.
The President cited Uganda’s previous public health campaigns against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, Guinea worm and bilharzia as examples of how community mobilisation, improved sanitation, access to safe drinking water and public awareness can improve health outcomes.
Tax relief and doctors’ welfare
Museveni also backed a proposal to exempt medical personnel from paying taxes on their salaries, arguing that health workers should receive similar consideration to security personnel.
“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,” Museveni said.
The proposed tax relief follows earlier discussions between the President and UMA leaders on improving the welfare of health workers. Its implementation will, however, require the relevant government processes.
The President also challenged doctors to address moonlighting, where medical professionals divide their working hours between government health facilities and private medical establishments.
He said improving doctors’ remuneration and welfare was important in addressing the practice, recalling that before 1970, many African doctors worked exclusively in government hospitals because their salaries were sufficient to meet their needs.
Museveni also endorsed proposals for annual meetings of medical professionals and government support towards establishing doctors’ shops similar to army shops.
He advised that such shops should concentrate on essential commodities, including building materials, rather than non-essential products such as alcohol and perfumes.
On specialised medical training, the President directed government to facilitate the training of at least 200 geriatric specialists to address Uganda’s shortage of doctors specialising in the healthcare needs of elderly people.
He said the country currently had only three to four geriatric specialists, a situation he said required deliberate government intervention.
Museveni also raised concern over the shortage of paediatric cardiologists, noting that Uganda had approximately 12 specialists 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.
The President further cautioned universities and other institutions against commercialising medical education at the expense of quality, warning that substandard training compromises the competence of healthcare professionals.
He commended Soroti University for prioritising science-based academic programmes, emphasising that university education should respond to the country’s scientific, technological and development needs.
UMA proposes health sector reform compact
Presenting the medical fraternity’s position, UMA President Dr Frank Asiimwe proposed a Strategic Compact for Health Sector Reforms to strengthen collaboration between government and medical professionals and accelerate improvements in healthcare delivery.
Asiimwe 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.
He 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.
While acknowledging government investments and achievements in healthcare, Asiimwe said several systemic barriers continued to constrain service delivery and required joint intervention.
He said the proposed reforms built on strategic dialogue initiated during the first Grand Doctors’ Conference in 2016, which Museveni also attended as Chief Guest.
Asiimwe highlighted improvements in life expectancy, maternal health, health financing and the country’s capacity to respond to disease outbreaks.
He said life expectancy had risen to 68 years and cited growth in domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing and improvements in health financing as developments that had strengthened Uganda’s capacity to respond to public health emergencies, including Ebola and cholera.
He also cited kidney transplantation at Mulago National Referral Hospital as a significant milestone towards clinical self-reliance, enabling Ugandans to access complex medical procedures locally.
The UMA president commended Ugandan doctors for delivering specialised medical services under challenging conditions, training successive generations of medical professionals and supporting the country’s response to disease outbreaks.
However, he said the achievements needed to be matched with deliberate interventions to address the remaining systemic challenges affecting healthcare delivery.
Asiimwe also announced that UMA’s National Executive Council had conferred on Museveni its highest institutional distinction, honorary membership number UMAHM00001, in recognition of his contribution to the medical profession and the country’s health sector.
He further presented the Association’s proposed priorities and a detailed breakdown of the Shs125 billion requested to support the doctors’ SACCO.
Omaswa calls for stronger primary healthcare
Professor Francis Omaswa, a distinguished medical scholar and founding chairperson of UMA, called for increased investment in primary healthcare and community-based health services to accelerate improvements in Uganda’s health indicators.
Omaswa acknowledged progress in life expectancy and maternal and child health but said more deliberate efforts were needed to achieve international health targets.
He urged political leaders at all levels to prioritise healthcare and mobilise communities to demand, participate in and take responsibility for health services.
He cited Uganda’s response to COVID-19, particularly the activation of village COVID-19 task forces, as an example of how community participation could strengthen public health interventions.
Omaswa also called for stronger inter-ministerial collaboration, arguing that health considerations should be integrated into other sectors, including water, education and housing, rather than being treated as the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Health.
On medical education, he called for stricter regulation of training institutions, warning that failure to enforce professional standards could undermine the quality of healthcare delivery.
He urged authorities to close institutions that fail to comply with guidelines issued by the Medical and Dental Practitioners Council and the National Council for Higher Education, cautioning that inadequate training could produce health professionals whose competence, attitudes and professional conduct compromise patient care.
Omaswa further challenged doctors to make professionalism, accountability and ethical conduct the foundation of their practice, urging medical practitioners to hold one another accountable for maintaining high standards of service.
Soroti University seeks more infrastructure
Soroti University Vice Chancellor Professor Robert Ikoja-Odongo commended government for its continued investment in the institution, saying the funding provided had enabled completion of an academic block that is now operational.
He said the facility had eased the shortage of teaching space and improved the university’s capacity to deliver academic programmes but appealed for additional lecture blocks and laboratory facilities to accommodate the growing student population.
Ikoja-Odongo also applauded government for facilitating plans to establish a teaching and regional referral hospital at the university.
He revealed that the university had allocated 50 acres of land for the project, adding that encroachers had been removed and an irregular land title cancelled, clearing the way for construction of the Ministry of Health-managed facility.
He further commended government for establishing the Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology at Soroti University, saying the facility would strengthen Uganda’s nuclear science programme through specialised training and research.
He explained that the centre would support the production of radioisotopes used in cancer treatment, helping Uganda reduce its dependence on foreign countries for essential medical technologies and services.
The Vice President, Jessica Alupo, credited Museveni’s leadership and political commitment for progress in Uganda’s health sector.
She said a healthy population was fundamental to wealth creation, employment, productivity and socioeconomic transformation because healthy citizens were better positioned to exploit their potential and contribute to national development.
Alupo applauded the President for championing public health, particularly the prevention and management of epidemics, and highlighted the expansion of the national immunisation programme from six vaccines targeting killer diseases to the current 13.
She called for increased public awareness of hygiene, proper nutrition and other lifestyle practices that contribute to better health outcomes.
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