The placement of more than 100 medical interns at various hospitals this year is on hold pending the allocation of necessary funds, spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Walters Kamanya said. 

Kamanya, in response to recent concerns by a group of unplaced medical interns, on Tuesday told Nampa the ministry faces financial constraints which hinder placements of medical students for internship nationwide. 

“While infrastructure and the number of available posts play a role, the most significant limiting factor remains insufficient financial allocation to fund posts for all qualified graduates,” Kamaya said. 

There are currently 153 medical interns placed at various training hospitals within the Ministry of Health and Social Services. 

“These interns have, however, not yet commenced with the internship programme due to funding,” Kamaya added. 

The spokesperson noted that the ministry is actively engaging with the Ministry of Finance to secure increased financial resources that will enable the funding of more posts. 

“While no fixed timeline can be confirmed at this stage, once the fiscal space improves, priority will be given to expanding health workforce capacity to ensure that medical interns and other qualified professionals are adequately accommodated into the ministry’s approved staff establishment,” he said. 

Kamanya noted that there is no consolidated data on the exact number of unemployed medical officers in the labour market, saying that the ministry remains committed to strengthening the health workforce and acknowledges the urgent need to fill staff shortages across all levels of health care delivery. 

Meanwhile, the group of unplaced student doctors disclosed to this news agency that they have been waiting for placement since 2021, with a lack of funds being blamed for the delays. 

“Middlemen (through tendering) and purchases of expensive tertiary level diagnostics and therapeutic equipment, of which some are never used due to lack of personnel with the knowledge of how to use them, should be abolished to cater for employment,” the interns, who asked to remain anonymous, said. – Nampa