Mental health is affecting thousands of young people in Uganda as we are experiencing increasing cases of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, suicide and other mental disorders among youth. Pamoja Afya (health) Initiative recognizes the wide gap that still exist to access mental health care among Ugandan communities. Our program therefore focuses on promoting the following interventions.
Awareness Raising of Mental Health
This empowers students in schools and out of school youth with skills of self-awareness; self-regulation, relationship building, and responsible decision-making to enable them manage emotions effectively and to also adopt coping mechanisms to manage their mental challenges which among others include:-
Depression & Anxiety: Caused by poverty, unemployment, and trauma from past conflicts.
Substance Abuse: Increased use of alcohol, cannabis, and khat (mairungi)
Trauma & Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Caused by displacement, severe psychological distress coming gender-based violence and child sexual abuse among others
Suicide Rates. We recognize that Uganda has one of the highest suicide rates in Africa and due to cultural stigma many do not seek help
Mental Illness & Stigma like Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It are majorly caused by being misunderstood, abandoned, rejected, chained or hidden by family due to cultural beliefs.
Teachers’ Mental Health Empowerment
The program also empowers school teachers to create a positive, supportive and inclusive school environment. Here students feel safe, respected, and valued by teachers and peers. We also advocate for integration of Well-being into the curriculum. This is to enable schools introduce mindfulness exercises, physical activity sessions, and emotional intelligence training as part of daily lessons. The program specifically focuses on teachers’ mental and physical health. This is to ensure that they are optimally equipped to provide quality instruction and positive interactions with pupils and students.
Psycho Social Rehabilitation
The program also carries out mental health screening using Patient Health Questionnaires (PHQ-9). Here, individuals affected by mental health challenges are identified and referred for expert medical services. The program as well supports critically vulnerable individuals with mental health treatment and economic support services to help them in their recovery
Partnership Building and Collaboration.
In order to build resilience and promote advocacy for mental health services in Ugandan, we create partnership and collaboration with other organizations and agencies to amplify our collective voice for increased and improved service delivery of mental health services in our communities so as to break down barriers to mental healthcare and support.