Ugandan medical professionals who were detained while demonstrating to parliament to demand better pay and working conditions have been freed on police bail. The group of 27 senior and intern health professionals had been transported to the Central Police station after their arrest in the capital Kampala.
The protesters had originally intended to sit down in the roadway when police halted them.
Both senior and intern physicians in the nation are on strike.
The medical workers’ strike began early last month, but intensified last week, after an instruction from the health ministry that all striking intern physicians should abandon their posts at public health institutions within a week.
The ministry also told the interns that if they did not finish their rotation, they would not acquire their practicing license.
The walkout has now been joined by pharmacists, nurses, and other trained medical staff.
The incoming batch of interns has likewise declared that they would not start their training until their senior colleagues’ requests are satisfied.
The medical interns and senior house officers – those preparing to become specialists – comprise the majority of the healthcare professionals in the nation.
The interns are paid 750,000 Ugandan Shilling (£160; $210) each month throughout their stay.
