A group of medical graduates from Habib Medical School at the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) have issued a plea to Ugandan authorities, highlighting a decade-long administrative failure that has left them stranded in their pursuit of international medical careers.
In a letter dated May 26, 2025 addressed to key government officials in the ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs, the alumni expressed frustration over the university’s failure to secure an Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) sponsor note, a critical requirement for pursuing medical residency, licensure or clinical fellowships in the United States and Canada.
The first cohort of medical doctors graduated from Habib Medical School in 2014 yet more than ten years later, these graduates remain unable to apply for the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) or participate in postgraduate medical training.
The ECFMG sponsor note, a prerequisite for international medical graduates to access these opportunities was expected to be secured when the medical program began in 2014.
However, the university has yet to fulfill this administrative responsibility leaving a group of qualified Ugandan doctors in what the alumni describe as a “professional limbo.”
The letter representing numerous affected graduates details repeated efforts to engage IUIU’s administration through emails, phone calls, physical visits and even legal avenues. Despite these attempts, the alumni report receiving no official response or resolution.
Jacob Otile, one of the affected alumni, said that it is disturbing that even upon several attempts by them to have this matter resolved, there is yet to be an official communication as to why this has taken 12 years.
“Just imagine an accreditation process that takes only submissions of documents and you sit back and wait but IUIU’s administration is yet to address this. Knowing that other Ugandan universities have their accreditation already but IUIU wouldn’t move a finger to initiate or facilitate the process is very frustrating,” he said.
Hamza Sekalema, a lecturer at IUIU told The Observer that the claims are true but since the complaints by the medical alumni, the university administration is taking the matter as priority one and are working on it.
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