By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA:
Mental health expert, Don Zane Muwanguzi has expressed worries on the increasing cases of mental health disorders among the youth in the country as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
Muwanguzi, is founder of Awesome Mind Speaks, he made the remarks on Sunday evenning while being hosted on Twitter Space on how COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental wellbeing of young people in Uganda.
“We must admit that mental health is a new concept in Uganda and people are now realizing that we need to talk about it, the COVID-19 lockdown has enabled mental health conversations this is why you hear everyone is talking about it,” he said.
The space was organized by Jerational Agenda a Non Government Organisation on promoting mental health and menstrual hygiene in Uganda. It was hosted by Benson Onyango, the team leader Jeneration Agenda and his Co-host Margeret Olore.
During the discussion, Muwanguzi said the effects of the pandemic such as loss of jobs, schools closure, drastic change of routines, loss of the lives of dear ones among others have caused a very big gap in the lives of many people especially the youth something that has resulted into mental disorders like; depression, anxiety, Gender Based Violence, teenage pregnancies, suicide, bipolar, drugs and alcohol abuse to mention but afew.
Nonetheless, noted that it is health for someone to express emotions
“It is okay to have normal feelings like anxiety, sadness and or depression but when it becomes a challenge, it grows possibly and starts affecting your day to day life,” he said.
He said “It is okay to express emotions. If you are happy all the time that would be a problem.”
Recent study by Northwestern University on the crisis of mental health in Uganda indicates that mental illnesses is massive in the country. According to the findings, it is estimated that 35 percent of Ugandans suffer from mental illnesses, and 15 percent of Ugandans require treatment.
Muwanguzi attributed the increase on cases of mental health disorders on inadequate facilities in the country and also limited funding of the sector.
It should be understood that Uganda has only one National Referral Hospital, Butabika Hospital, for mental health and the sector shares only 1% of the national budget allocation which makes treatment for mental health disorders expensive in private hospitals.
Benson Onyango,the team leader at Jeneration Agenda says that mental health is a public concern urging people to support each other inorder to minimise on the adverse effects.
“Mental health is a very important aspect for every human being that cannot bee ignored anymore. People need to support each other through hard times to minimise adverse effects,” Onyango said.
He appealed to the government to create spaces for youth to acquire mental health support without stigmatization or judgement as well as increase on the budget allocation and making services more available for mental disorder patients.
Similarly, Muwanguzi expressed the need to create awareness and localise mental health appealing to the government to put in place many health facilities and train Village Health Teams (VHTs) on mental health.
“We need to train VHTs on basic mental health counselling and information because they are more approachable to the people,” he appealed.
He further urged persons with mental disorders to take diagnosis from neuro psychiatrists and physio therapists one way of overcoming the challenge.
Jeneration Agenda is a non profit organisation on promotion of mental health and menstrual hygiene advocacy in the country. It is currently running a campaign dubbed #TalktoMe with an idea to urge individuals to be friendly by wearing the face that encourages those going through hard times to confide and talk to them.
About Mental illness.
Mental illnesse, also called mental health disorders, refers to a wide range of mental health condition that affect your mood, thinking and behavior. Examples of mental illnesses include depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviors. Many people who have mental illnesses do not want to talk about it (the introverts) but experts say mental illnesses is nothing to be ashamed of! They say that it is a medical condition just like heart disease and diabetes which those who have shared it with psychiatrists (the extroverts) have been diagnosied of the condition. Mental health conditions are according to experts treatable.
