By Diana N. Kintu
Kampala: The Government of Uganda will officially launch the National Education and Training for Health Policy, 2025, together with its Implementation Standards and Guidelines, on April 29, 2026 at the Source of the Nile Hotel in Jinja City.
According to the statement, the launch will be presided over by Hon. J.C. Muyingo, Minister of Education and Sports, and will bring together Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, heads of health professional councils, training institutions, development partners, and civil society.
The policy is designed to transform Uganda’s health workforce in line with Vision 2040, which envisions the country as a regional hub for quality, specialised healthcare.
“Realising this vision depends on producing, retaining and continuously developing a competent, responsive and equitably distributed health workforce,” the statement noted.
Uganda currently faces significant gaps in health staffing. The World Health Organization recommends at least 4.45 skilled health workers per 1,000 people to achieve Universal Health Coverage. By 2030, Uganda will require approximately 167,765 skilled health workers.
Yet as recently as 2019, the country had only about 28,000. The doctor‑to‑patient ratio stands at 1:25,000, far below the recommended 1:1,000, with similar shortfalls across nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, dentistry, and specialised cadres.
According to the statement, the policy addresses challenges such as outdated curricula, non‑uniform admission and examination standards, under‑equipped training facilities, a shortage of specialized trainers, weak internship management, and inadequate continuous professional development.
The policy is built around six objectives: increasing the enrolment of specialized trainees, improving the quality of trainers, upgrading training facilities, strengthening internships and clinical practice, and enhancing continuous professional development.
Priority actions include standardizing admission criteria and certification, expanding postgraduate training in priority disciplines, investing in modern skills laboratories and simulation centers, and rolling out a national Internship Management Framework.
The statement also highlighted reforms such as the establishment of a Health Training Management Information System (HTMIS), integration of emerging issues, including Artificial Intelligence in health training, and regulation of traditional and complementary medicine practitioners.
Expected benefits include improved health outcomes through competent and ethical professionals, strengthened health systems resilient to public health emergencies, and accelerated human capital development through a globally competitive workforce.
The Ministry of Education and Sports called on all stakeholders, training institutions, regulators, employers, development partners, and students to support the implementation of the policy. “Education and training for health must optimally contribute to Uganda’s human capital development and socio‑economic transformation,” the statement concluded.
Source: Ministry of Education and Sports, April 2026.