Doctors-in-waiting internship intake allegedly stalls over funding

A group of medical graduates expected to begin compulsory internships on 1 September remain without placements, amid reports that government allegedly did not make enough money available for internship posts.

Affirmative Repositioning (AR) leader Job Amupanda raised the matter in the National Assembly on Tuesday, asking health and social services minister Dr Esperance Luvindao to confirm whether the intake had been delayed because of insufficient funding.

The number of affected graduates, the size of the alleged funding shortfall, and the date the internships will begin have not been disclosed.

Amupanda cautioned that an official in the health ministry's human-resources division reportedly communicated the funding explanation verbally to the graduates and did not present it as the government’s formal position.

“This explanation has not been presented here as a formal written government position. It requires confirmation by the responsible minister,” he said.

Luvindao had not answered the questions by the end of Tuesday’s proceedings, meaning the ministry has not confirmed the reported funding shortage.

Medical graduates must complete an internship before they can register and practise independently in Namibia.

Amupanda told the National Assembly that the applicable regulations require eligible graduates to register as medical interns and complete at least two years of supervised training at an approved health facility.

“The delay raises a serious policy and workforce-planning concern,” Amupanda said.

He asked Luvindao to disclose how many graduates were expected to start on 1 September, how many funded internship positions were available, and how many graduates remained without placements.

The health minister was also asked to state how much the 2026/27 national budget had allocated to medical internship positions, how many posts that allocation could support, and how much was required to accommodate the entire cohort.

Amupanda questioned why government had allegedly failed to make adequate financial provision if it knew that another group of graduates would become eligible for compulsory internships in September.

He also asked the ministry to provide a specific date by which the affected graduates would be placed and explain what measures would prevent similar delays from affecting future cohorts.

Previous intake also delayed

The latest concern follows an internship placement crisis in 2025, when more than 150 medical graduates challenged the postponement of their placements because of financial constraints.

The group included University of Namibia graduates, foreign-trained doctors and graduates who had passed the Health Professions Council of Namibia’s licensing examination.

Some had reportedly relocated and secured accommodation near the hospitals to which they had been assigned before learning they could not start as planned.

At the time, health ministry spokesperson Walters Kamaya confirmed that financial constraints had affected the placements and said the ministry regretted the disruption caused to the graduates’ accommodation and financial arrangements.

The ministry also explained that medical internship rotations generally begin in January, May and September and ordinarily cannot be started mid-rotation.

Critical shortages

The reported delay comes as public hospitals continue to struggle with shortages of critical personnel.

The Otjozondjupa Regional Council’s 2025/26 report, for example, records that Otjiwarongo State Hospital has eight doctors against an approved staffing requirement of 40.

Otjozondjupa regional health director Gebhardo Timotheus recently confirmed the staffing figures but explained that many of the positions on the hospital’s establishment were unfunded and therefore could not be advertised.