In 2022, Channel 4, a British broadcast television channel aired a special coverage around the mental illness conditions in Uganda.

The short report vividly describes all too clearly how difficult it is for people to access mental health care in Uganda. It shows a family who has to lock up their son as they and the neighbours are afraid of him when he is disturbed, as they don’t know what else to do or where to go. It demonstrates that there is still a great need in Uganda.

Around 14 million people are thought to be living with mental illness in Uganda, yet just one percent of the country’s total health expenditure goes towards mental health.

There’s a severe shortage of drugs, trained specialists and facilities while patients also face an uphill battle to challenge the stigma around mental health conditions.

There is an interview with Professor Segane Musisi who describes how one of the problems is the lack of mental health literacy, so people don’t know what to do when someone is mentally ill. He also talks about the lack of trained mental health staff in Uganda.

Watch the 10-minute coverage below, and we should warn you there are some upsetting scenes in his report:

From Uganda – Channel 4, Africa correspondent Jamal Osman reports.