The Health sector primarily focuses on supporting Public Health interventions at the grassroots level in Uganda. The sector provides participants with the opportunity to work alongside Health professionals and specialists in communities with urgent healthcare needs, supporting these communities with affordable public health interventions.

Access to healthcare remains severely limited for economically disadvantaged Ugandans. According to recent government data from the 2024/2025 national budget, approximately 28% of citizens—more than a quarter of the population—now live below the poverty line (Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2024), a concerning increase from 25% in 2021/2022.

Uganda’s disease burden continues to be dominated by communicable diseases, which account for over 55% of morbidity and mortality nationwide. Malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and respiratory, diarrheal, epidemic-prone and vaccine-preventable diseases remain the leading causes of illness and death. The country also faces a growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including a 17% rise in mental health disorders since 2021. Maternal and perinatal conditions continue to contribute significantly to mortality rates, with rural areas experiencing twice the maternal mortality of urban centers.

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) persist as a significant challenge, particularly affecting rural impoverished communities where access to preventive healthcare remains inconsistent. The overall health landscape is further complicated by lingering post-COVID-19 challenges. Recent research published in The Lancet Global Health (Kumar et al., 2023) confirms what earlier studies suggested: the indirect impact of pandemic response measures on non-COVID-19 diseases has indeed outweighed the direct impact of COVID-19 itself in many low-resource settings, with an estimated 32% reduction in essential health service utilization during peak periods.

The scope of practice remains extensive due to these multiple, interconnected health challenges, creating meaningful opportunities for interns to contribute to sustainable solutions across various public health domains.