Up to 12.6 million Ugandans living with a mental disorder do not know they are sick because they never seek treatment, the latest report by the Auditor General has revealed.
According to the report, by 2022 an estimated 14 million Ugandans, about 32% of the population, were suffering from some form of mental disorder.
However, only an estimated 10% (1.4 million) of these patients receive treatment meaning about 12.6 million Ugandans continue to live with untreated illness or don’t know.
The report for the year ending December 31, 2025 notes that Uganda is ranked among the top six African countries with the highest cases of mental disorders yet services remain underdeveloped, fragmented and inaccessible.
The report attributes the increase of mental disorders in Uganda to subatance abuse and distress as a result of poverty among other factors.
To make matters worse, more than 60% of people with mental disorders who tried to seek treatement first sought help from traditional healers, the report notes, attributing this to stigma, low awareness and poor community outreach.
Despite this rise, the report states that the effectiveness of interventions by the ministry of Health in reversing this trend continues to be affected by several challenges.
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One of the most serious gaps, the report notes, is the failure to fully operationalise the Mental Health Act, Cap 308, enacted in 2019.
The report notes that government has not developed regulations for community mental health integration, emergency treatment and voluntary treatment to fully operationalise the Act six years after it was passed.
“Mental health units in regional hospitals are operated without standardised infrastructure, safety protocols or clear management frameworks,” the report notes.
Funding constraints have also crippled service delivery. Over the three years reviewed, the report notes that only Shs 1.1 billion out of the total mental health budget of Shs 58.5 billion was allocated to the Mental Health Division of the Ministry of Health.
This division is responsible for implementing mental, neurological and substance use interventions nationwide.
The report states that Uganda has only 53 psychiatrists, equivalent to one psychiatrist per 1 million people, which is way below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation of one psychiatrist per 10,000 people.
Most regional and district health facilities, the report notes, “lacked trained personnel, medicines and equipment to manage mental health conditions effectively.”
These gaps have pushed many patients away from formal health care to traditional healers.
“Health facilities lacked adequate infrastructure, specialised clinics for children and pregnant mothers, and functional rehabilitation programmes,” the report notes.
The report also raised alarm over unregulated private facilities, noting that upto 216 unaccredited private rehabilitation centres were operating without oversight, posing safety risks to patients.
Public awareness efforts were found to be minimal, according to the report.
“Only 19 out of 65 sampled health facilities, representing 29%, conducted mental health outreach activities,” the report notes.
The report warns that without significant investment in policy implementation, human resources, community-based care and inter-sectoral coordination, Uganda risks failing to meet both national health objectives and international commitments on mental health and well-being.
It recommends fast tracking regulations under the Mental Health Act, increasing funding, recruiting more mental health professionals and strengthening community sensitisation to ensure that millions of Ugandans finally know when they are sick and where to seek help.
