Mr. Patrick Bitature’s Speech at the Ministry of Health and YouBelong Uganda Stakeholders Meeting

Mr. Patrick Bitature’s Speech at the Ministry of Health and YouBelong Uganda Stakeholders Meeting

Distinguished guests, health professionals, community leaders, members of the YouBelong family, and fellow Ugandans,

Good morning.

I am deeply honored to stand before you today as Patron of YouBelong, an organization founded on a simple but powerful belief: every person, regardless of their mental health condition, belongs in a family, belongs in a community, and belongs in society.

Today we gather to discuss a challenge that is no longer hidden in the shadows. Mental health has become one of the most pressing public health issues of our time.

In Uganda, mental health cases have risen significantly in recent years. Ministry of Health statistics indicate a 25 percent increase in reported mental health cases over the last four years. Health experts estimate that nearly one quarter of Ugandan adults and almost one quarter of our children are affected by mental health conditions, yet many never receive the support they need.

The burden is especially heavy among our young people. We are seeing increasing levels of depression, anxiety, hopelessness, substance abuse and emotional distress. Alcohol and drug abuse have become major drivers of mental illness, particularly among the youth. At Butabika Hospital, approximately 30 percent of admitted patients are reported to have challenges related to alcohol or substance abuse.

The result is visible to all of us.

Butabika Hospital was designed for about 550 beds, yet it frequently accommodates over 1,000 patients. Its dedicated staff work tirelessly under immense pressure, but the reality is that no single hospital can carry the mental health burden of an entire nation.

This is why the conversation about decongesting Butabika is so important.

The solution is not simply building bigger wards. The solution is bringing care closer to where people live.

At YouBelong, we believe that many patients who have stabilized and are no longer acutely ill should not spend months or years institutionalized. With the right support, education and follow-up, they can return to their families, their villages, their churches, their mosques, their workplaces and their communities.

We work with families to understand mental illness, to remove fear and stigma, and to provide practical support so that recovery can happen at home. We help communities understand that mental illness is not a curse, not a punishment and not a source of shame. It is a health condition that deserves treatment, compassion and dignity.

Every patient successfully reintegrated into the community creates space for someone who genuinely requires specialized hospital care. Every family empowered becomes part of the solution. Every community that embraces rather than rejects a person living with mental illness becomes a place of healing.

Mental health is not just a medical issue. It is a family issue. It is an education issue. It is an employment issue. It is a community issue. It is a national development issue.

We must therefore invest in prevention, especially among young people. We must tackle alcohol and drug abuse. We must strengthen counselling services in schools and universities. We must support parents, teachers, religious leaders and community workers to recognize the early warning signs of mental illness.

Most importantly, we must replace stigma with understanding.

Let us create a Uganda where seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Let us create a Uganda where families are equipped to care for their loved ones.

Let us create a Uganda where recovery happens not only in hospitals, but also in homes and communities.

And let us ensure that every person struggling with mental illness hears these powerful words:

“You are valued. You are loved. You are not alone. You belong.”

“The true measure of a society is not how it treats its strongest members, but how it treats its most vulnerable. Every person living with mental illness is someone’s son, daughter, brother, sister, mother or father. They deserve not our fear, but our compassion; not our rejection, but our support; not isolation but belonging. Together, let us build communities where healing is possible, hope is restored, and every person knows that they belong.”

Thank you, and may God bless you all.