Uganda is facing an escalating mental health crisis marked by a severe shortage of psychologists, rising cases of depression and anxiety, and growing concern over suicide among young people, health experts and advocates have warned.
Dr. Hafsa Lukwata, the Assistant Commissioner for Mental Health at the Ministry of Health, said the country's mental health system is overstretched, with most regional referral hospitals lacking clinical psychologists.
The few available specialists are concentrated at Butabika National Mental Hospital in Kampala.
"We hardly have clinical psychologists in just a few of the regional referral hospitals. The majority are now in Butabika Hospital. That puts the rest of the country in a very tight situation," Dr. Lukwata told reporters.
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She explained that although the government has revised staffing structures to include psychologists, counselors, psychiatric nurses, and clinical officers, implementation has been slow because of budget constraints.
"Most of the districts are not implementing the new structure. They say the budget is constrained, the wage bill is constrained, so that puts us in a very tricky situation," she noted.
The gap has left many Ugandans without access to talk therapy the recommended first-line treatment for mild and moderate depression forcing patients to seek help only when conditions worsen, often requiring medication or hospitalization.
Compounding the problem is the lack of nationwide data on the prevalence of mental health conditions.
Dr. Lukwata said the absence of reliable statistics makes planning for drugs and human resources difficult.
"When we don't know the numbers, we cannot plan properly for the medication, but also for the human resource," she said, adding that the government intends to conduct a national study despite its high cost.
The strain is evident in schools, where cases of suicide and attempted suicide among children as young as 10 have been reported.
To respond, the Ministry of Health is collaborating with the Ministry of Education to train teachers, school nurses, and senior men and women in psychological first aid to identify struggling learners and link them to health facilities.
The warnings came as Uganda held its first-ever national suicide prevention conference in Kampala, coinciding with World Suicide Prevention Day. The two-day Live (Listen, Include, Validate, Empower) Conference brought together health professionals, policymakers, religious leaders, families, and young people to confront what organisers described as a "silent crisis" claiming thousands of lives annually.
Andrew Rugasira, Chair of the Organising Committee, said the gathering was historic in opening space for Ugandans to speak openly about suicide, an issue long shrouded in stigma.
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"Suicide is a global problem. Over a million people die from it every year more than war or HIV/AIDS and it is the second leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29," Rugasira said.
"We have come together to break the silence, to tell our young people that their lives matter, and to push for government action through a national suicide prevention policy."
He called for the decriminalisation of attempted suicide, which is still punishable under Uganda's Penal Code, arguing that those who attempt to take their lives need care, not prosecution.
"We need to decriminalise suicide. This is not just a criminal issue, it is a mental health issue," Rugasira stressed.
Delegates proposed the creation of a multi-stakeholder coalition to strengthen mental health support in schools, workplaces, and communities.
Recommendations from the meeting will be submitted to Parliament and the Ministry of Health.
Rugasira also urged increased government funding for mental health, warning that Butabika Hospital remains overwhelmed and under-resourced.
"Suicide prevention means detection and intervention before it is too late. We must train teachers, human resource officers, and community leaders to recognise early warning signs and respond with empathy and support," he said.
