The recently released final census report 2024 corraborates the fact that Uganda’s mental health crisis is actually deeper than is always appreciated. That actually, 1 in every 10 Ugandans (or 10%) aged 10 years and above, is experiencing “psychological distress” of some sort.
Uganda’s population is roughly 46m people and of these, about 14m are children aged 9 years and below. So, this means that those aged 10 years and more, who the mental distress part of the census report refers to, number up to 32m; ten percent of which translates to 3.2m persons.
The report further shows that of that 3.2m, 8% suffer from probable depressive disorder; 4% from probable bipolar effective disorder; 4% anxiety disorders and 1% suffer from suicidal tendencies.
It’s recommended in the report that the government undertakes comprehensive scientific investigations to properly identify and diagnose the extent of “psychiatric disorders” in the country. That the GoU should leverage census data as an entry point and “sampling frame” to study the problem more deeply in order to come up with the appropriate mitigation measures.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
