The debate has long existed between which is better, universal or privatized healthcare. One of the largest problems plaguing universal healthcare is the staffing issues which it faces, one of the greatest contributors to the long wait times that it is known for. For the UK, as well as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Uganda is offering assistance.

Though Uganda is no stranger to these very same problems, needing to employ 55,000 nurses but only employing 28,000 out of the 62,000 that are qualified, the Ugandan government simply does not have the budget to hire them all. Each year approximately 5,000 people graduate from Ugandan universities and other institutions, only around 2,000 of which are actually hired from the government. The remaining 3,000 are to, hopefully, be sent to other nations, primarily the UK. The negotiations for which are presently underway, according to the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Union.

Nurses which secure these jobs will be offered a 20 Million Ugandan Shilling recruitment bonus (5363 USD), and be paid approximately 5 million shillings per month (around 1340 USD), a stark contrast to the 1-4.6 million nurses will make in Uganda (it varies by qualification/experience).

Uganda’s healthcare system has been facing criticism pertaining to its severe understaffing problem in its public facilities due to lack of government budget availability, and the same due to low pay rates in the nations’ private facilities. Though the plan doesn’t alleviate the strain on Uganda’s healthcare system, it offers a small sense of relief for the UK’s system, and a more lucrative job/career for the nurses sent overseas.