Kibuku's mental health clinic has opened its doors to youngsters

Residents of Kibuku District and neighbouring districts are overjoyed with the opening of a health centre in Kagumu Sub-county to manage instances of youngsters suffering from mental diseases. Kagumu has 189 mentally ill children, according to district statistics.

The Shs123 million facility was built in collaboration with Eikos e.V., a German non-governmental organisation, and the Uganda Association for the Mentally Handicapped (UAMH) Inclusion Uganda.

Ms. Elizabeth Gimbo, a resident of Kagumu's Budukulo Village, stated that access to therapy has been difficult. There are no medications available at government-run clinics "Ms. Gimbo bemoaned. As a result of the establishment of this institution, health care will become more accessible.

It was found that inhabitants of Nakonkoli Village, notably Mr. Lawrence Amuryata, are lobbying for the establishment of a facility that will exclusively cater to children with mental health issues. "Government facilities do not prioritise the provision of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of youngsters suffering from mental illnesses. "We have been lobbying for this institution," Mr. Amuryata added.

According to the Nakonkoli chairwoman, two out of every ten children are born with mental diseases or other connected concerns. "Child mental health concerns are common in this region," the specialist explains. "We have more mentally ill youngsters than any other country," he remarked.

A person in charge of health and education in the district attributed the high rate of mental illness in the area to an inadequate diet. Because of the unique needs of pregnant women, financial security is critical for everyone.

According to Mr. Hussein Wegulo, a Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development official, the district leadership has been tasked with executing a range of income-generating programmes for those suffering from mental and other related problems.

Stigma, according to Betty Byanaku, chairperson of UAMH-Inclusion Uganda, would be eliminated. "Access to health care for children and their parents has become more difficult." "These youngsters endure discrimination in their homes and in their access to care," Ms. Byanaku explained. Ms.

Many families have neglected their children, according to Moses Kirya, programme manager at UAMH-Inclusion Uganda. Regardless, "we are training communities to see that these children deserve equal chance," Mr. Kirya said.

During the needs assessment, the project coordinator, Bertha Kawooya, identified a lack of primary health care for children with mental health difficulties. There have been numerous reports of mental health problems.

According to the most recent Ministry of Health data, 14 million Ugandans out of the country's 42 million people suffer from mental disease. One in every ten Ugandans is thought to suffer from a mental disease. Although this is a significant figure, experts feel it could be much higher given that the testing was carried out prior to the availability of Covid-19 in 2019. Men are four times more likely than women to commit suicide, whereas women are twice as likely to suffer from mental illness and three times more likely to attempt suicide.