Uganda to export over 260 health workers to Trinidad and Tobago

Uganda on Tuesday announced that it will send 263 health professionals to work in Trinidad and Tobago despite calls from civil society organizations to stop the process.

Ministry of foreign affairs in a statement issued here said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Trinidad and Tobago which allows for two year contracts for the health professionals who will be sent.

The ministry said it is government's mandate to provide opportunities for those that do not have employment.

Civil society organizations argued that there is a shortage of medical personnel in health centers across the country and therefore sending the health workers to Trinidad and Tobago would be counterproductive.

Government however argued that available data indicates that there were 59,000 registered health professionals in the country for all categories by end of 2014. It said there were 57,050 approved vacant posts in government structure, of which 35,903 were filled, leaving 21,152 posts.

"From the above figures, it implies that 63 percent of the health professionals are employed in the public sector, while 37 percent is either employed in the private sector, unemployed or left the country for greener pastures. Therefore, the absorptive capacity of the public service is limited, and this is the gap that the framework is trying to bridge," the statement said.

The ministry said Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council records of 2014 indicate that, in the last 10 years, over 55 health training institutions have opened across the country. These are government, faith based and the private sector institutions.

"This implies that graduate output levels of health workers has steadily increased, leading to high numbers of health workers in the job market, which cannot be solely absorbed by government and the private sector," the statement said.

Trinidad and Tobago has been helping Uganda build skills to exploit its oil and gas resource. Endi