With mental health conditions increasingly impacting Ugandans across age groups and social classes, Ukara Mental Health Services is leading a major public campaign in Mbarara to confront the crisis head-on.
The initiative will culminate in a citywide Mental Health Awareness Run on May 31, 2025, under the theme, “Turning Awareness into Action.”
The run is designed not just as a symbolic gesture but as a call to Ugandans to break the silence, fight stigma, and demand better access to mental health care.
“Mental health is not just about people who have run mad on the streets. It’s about all of us,” said Barbara Amutuhaire, Team Leader at Ukara.
“Many people are suffering silently. This campaign will help us connect, talk, and act—starting even with a simple digital app to reach those too afraid to visit a counsellor.”
With May marked globally as Mental Health Awareness Month, the campaign is urging the public to look beyond appearances.
“Reach out to someone,” Amutuhaire added. “Most of them seem okay when they are not.”
In Uganda, 6% of the population suffers from a mental health condition—a figure that places the country among the highest on the continent.
Disorders like depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, and anxiety are often fuelled by poverty, substance abuse, illness, and loss.
Daphin Ngabirano Musinguzi, Regional Coordinator for Counsellors in Uganda, warned that the country’s health system is ill-equipped to cope with the scale of mental illness.
“At Butabika Hospital, 700 patients are managed by just two or three doctors. There are no drugs, no specialists—and the number of victims keeps rising,” she said.
The crisis is not confined to hospitals. It affects schools, homes, roads, and workplaces.
Professional counsellor and teacher Edward Ihorere said early signs of mental distress are often visible in schools.
“It shows in how students relate. They become aggressive, detached, and isolate themselves. They stop seeing others as human,” he said.
“When you see someone counting fingers repeatedly or struggling with sleep and intrusive thoughts, that person needs help.”
On the roads, mental instability is increasingly seen as a factor in accidents.
“We believe many road crashes happen because people are driving while mentally unwell,” said Solomon Atwongyeire, a first aider with Uganda Red Cross in Mbarara.
“Mental alertness is critical. That’s why we want this message to reach everyone.”
Ukara’s broader goal is to sustain engagement beyond the May 31 run.
The group plans to launch school outreach programmes, push for increased mental health funding, and develop a discreet mobile application to connect users with mental health professionals anonymously.
As the countdown to race day begins, organisers are rallying communities to turn personal struggles into shared action.
“Let’s take this beyond awareness,” said Amutuhaire.
“Let it be the start of something bigger—of healing, of understanding, of change.”