A Message To Our Fellow Citizens In Uganda On World Day Of Mental Health From The Women For Women Group At YouBelong Uganda

October 08, 2021

October 10 2021

We are proud of our motherland, Uganda!

We are grateful that the Constitution of Uganda recognises women as key stakeholders in the growth and development of the country. It has uplifted and empowered some women into positions of leadership and equality, but new pathways need to be opened for more women to assume leadership roles and active life, both in the social and the economic life of Uganda.

We want Uganda to keep growing and developing, building well functioning families and communities. For this to happen, we believe that some changes still need to take place in our culture, particularly for girls and women. The whole community of Uganda needs to confront cultural, social, and economic barriers that can prevent girls and young women from reaching their full potential, more so during the COVID-19 era.

As young Ugandan women, who are social workers and mental health nurses, we are very concerned for the mental wellbeing, physical protection and care of girls and young women in our community. We hope that all Ugandans can come to understand and accept that physical, sexual, psychological and financial abuse harms and destroys the lives and the future of so many girls and women. We must try harder to stop and to prevent this abuse from happening. These abuses cause much damage to girls and women, not only physically, but emotionally and mentally.

Can we not build values of harmony and solidarity in Uganda? 

Can we not build a community where we truly value one another as human persons of dignity, and look out for each other, particularly the vulnerable and people with disabilities?

Can we not try to help our culture to grow so that all girls and women, boys and men, can live together with equal human dignity and opportunity for the good of each other and for the good of Uganda?

Of particular importance to us as young professional women, working in the area of mental health is an immediate concern. According to the World Health Organisation, half of all mental health conditions start by 14 years of age, and if not addressed, the consequences may extend into adulthood, causing affected individuals both physical and mental health impairment and limiting their opportunities for leading fulfilling lives as adults. We want to see adolescent girls and young women in Uganda have better and early access to mental health support for their wellbeing and happiness.

Through YouBelong Uganda, we are helping to transform mental health care in Uganda by strengthening services at health centres and building a link between the health system and communities, with a focus on families so that they can feel empowered to be a part of the solution. We hope and we pray that this 2021 World Day of Mental Health raises awareness of these important matters for the wellbeing of girls and women in Uganda.

Let us all remember that there is no health without mental health!