Museveni presided over the 10th Uganda Medical Association (UMA) Grand Doctors’ Conference at Soroti University on Friday, November 13, 2026
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I President Yoweri Museveni has committed Shs125 billion as seed capital for a medical doctors’ Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisation (SACCO), announced a tax exemption for medical personnel and directed the health sector to shift towards preventive healthcare to reduce Uganda’s disease burden.
The President said the financial intervention was intended to improve doctors’ welfare, support their further education and address financial pressures that have contributed to moonlighting, where medical professionals divide their working hours between government hospitals and private health facilities.
Museveni made the commitments while presiding over the 10th Uganda Medical Association (UMA) Grand Doctors’ Conference at Soroti University on Friday, November 13, 2026. The conference was held under the theme: “Harnessing the Numbers and Quality for Socioeconomic Transformation and Global Health.”
He said improving the welfare of medical professionals was essential to retaining skilled personnel in public health facilities and ensuring that doctors devoted their time and expertise to serving Ugandans.
The President also announced that government would exempt medical personnel from paying taxes on their salaries, extending to them a benefit enjoyed by security personnel, including soldiers, police officers 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,” Museveni said.
He challenged doctors to abandon moonlighting, arguing that improving their earnings and financial security would enable them to concentrate on their responsibilities in government hospitals.
Museveni recalled that before 1970, most African doctors worked exclusively in government hospitals because their salaries were sufficient to meet their needs.
Shift towards preventive healthcare
Beyond doctors’ welfare, Museveni challenged medical professionals to develop a cost-effective national healthcare strategy that prioritises disease prevention instead of spending enormous resources treating illnesses that could have been avoided.
He observed that approximately 80% of illnesses in Uganda are preventable and should not require expensive medical interventions.
He identified immunisation, proper nutrition, personal hygiene, safe drinking water, sanitation and public education as critical interventions for reducing the country’s disease burden.
Citing Uganda’s success in eliminating measles and polio, Museveni said expanding immunisation from an initial programme targeting six killer diseases, which 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.
The President particularly warned Ugandans against consuming mould-contaminated groundnuts, explaining that they contain harmful substances associated with cancer.
He urged doctors to extend 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 communities about disease prevention and healthy living.
Museveni cited Uganda’s campaigns against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, Guinea worm and bilharzia as examples of how community mobilisation, sanitation improvements and public awareness can deliver significant public health outcomes.
200 specialists to be trained
The President also directed 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, a situation requiring deliberate government intervention.
He further expressed concern over the shortage of paediatric cardiologists, noting that the country has approximately 12 specialists responsible for managing congenital heart conditions among children.
He challenged medical training institutions to identify other critical specialisation gaps and assured them of government support.
Museveni also cautioned universities 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, saying university education should respond to the country’s scientific, technological and development needs.
UMA proposes health sector reforms
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.
He said the association, which brings together close to 15,000 doctors across 14 branches, was committed to professional discipline, accountability, mentorship and working with government to address persistent healthcare challenges.
Dr Asiimwe acknowledged improvements in Uganda’s healthcare system, including increased life expectancy, reduced maternal mortality, improved health financing and strengthened capacity to respond to epidemics.
He said life expectancy had risen to 68 years and highlighted domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing and kidney transplantation at Mulago National Referral Hospital as milestones towards greater medical self-reliance.
He also presented the association’s proposed priorities and a detailed breakdown of the Shs125 billion requested to support the doctors’ SACCO.
In recognition of his contribution to the medical profession and Uganda’s health sector, Dr Asiimwe announced that the UMA National Executive Council had awarded Museveni its highest institutional distinction, honorary membership number UMAHM00001.
Calls for stronger primary healthcare
Former UMA founding chairperson Professor Francis Omaswa called for increased investment in primary healthcare and community-based services.
He said political leaders should mobilise communities to demand, participate in and take responsibility for healthcare delivery, citing village COVID-19 task forces as an example of successful community participation.
Omaswa also called for health considerations to be integrated into other sectors, including water, education and housing.
He urged authorities to enforce professional standards in medical training institutions, including closing those that fail to comply with requirements set by the Medical and Dental Practitioners Council and the National Council for Higher Education.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Jessica Alupo credited Museveni’s leadership for improvements in Uganda’s health sector, highlighting the expansion of immunisation from six vaccines targeting killer diseases to the current 13.
Soroti University Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Ikoja-Odongo thanked government for supporting the institution’s infrastructure development.
He said the university had allocated 50 acres for a proposed teaching and regional referral hospital to be managed by the Ministry of Health.
He also highlighted the establishment of the Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology, which is expected to strengthen specialised research and support the production of radioisotopes used in cancer treatment.
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