Many people in low- and middle-income countries face daily challenges, and their mental health has been additionally burdened by COVID-19. Psychologists in Uganda have been trying to help.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has revealed that the rate at which men suffer mental illness in Uganda is higher than that of women.
The Assistant Commissioner in charge of Reproductive and Infant Health, Dr. Richard Mugahi made the revelation on behalf of MOH during a press briefing in November 2023.
He attributed the high numbers to the fact that men have a very poor health thinking behavior.
“There are more men in Butabika National Referral Hospital than women. Yes, there are women too, but the men are more. Even in hospitals, we find that men come with very severe illnesses because they take long to come to the health system,” Mugahi said.
He said that the ministry has joined hands with the Ministry of Gender and the Police to organize the upcoming International Men’s Day scheduled for November 19, 2023, which Uganda has set to celebrate on November 30, 2023, at Kololo Independence Grounds to sensitize men and inform them of the need to be friendly to the healthcare systems and participate in early check-ups.
“Men take long to come to the health system, that is what points the picture of why we need to put a lot of emphasis on men because we know that losing men early is also not good because at 63 years, a man is still very productive,” he noted.
Every year on November 19, International Men’s Day (IMD) is observed globally to honour men’s beneficial contributions to society, families, and communities.
In Uganda, mental, neurological and substance use disorders are a major public health burden (Mugisha et al., 2019).
Depression, anxiety disorders, and elevated stress levels are the most common, sometimes leading to suicide attempts (Farzaei et al., 2016). Uganda is ranked among the top six countries in Africa in rates of depressive disorders (4.6%; Miller et al., 2020), while 2.9% live with anxiety disorders (WHO, 2017). About 5.1% of females and 3.6% of males are affected.
Molodynski et al. (2017) found that Uganda spends 9.8% of its gross domestic product on healthcare, or US$246 annually per person, but just 1% of this goes into mental healthcare. The majority of national mental health funding goes to the national mental health referral hospital, Butabika Hospital.
The World Health Organization (WHO, 2020) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic in the early months of 2020 and classed it a major disaster. According to Kuntz (2020), COVID-19 is an acute stressor that can induce trauma and destabilize individuals.
Uganda had reported 39,314 positive cases, 318 deaths and 53 new cases as of January 26, 2021 (Ugandan Ministry of Health, 2021), with the highest rates in the capital city of Kampala and towns on the borders with neighbouring countries. But given the social-economic impact of the coronavirus, the mental health of all individuals, families, and society has been affected (Ainamani, Gumisiriza, and Rukundo,2020).
