Dealing with Depression in Uganda - Part 1

We welcome back Brian Mukalazi, ECM's Country Director in Uganda, for this week's blogpost.  This is an important topic that all of our staff need to be aware of!

Estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that globally, the total number of people with depression exceeded 300 million in 2018. Depression is ranked by WHO as the single largest contributor to global disability (7.5 percent).

A February 2017 WHO report ranked Uganda among the top six countries in Africa with the highest number of people suffering from depressive disorders. The report says 1.7 million (4.6 percent) Ugandans suffer from depressive disorders.

Depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, decreased energy, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, and poor concentration.

As we appreciate the subject, it is important to differentiate between normal sadness and depression. Under adverse conditions like death of a relative, personal humiliation, disappointment, loss of social status, even financial loss, a psychological response is expected and could, of course, result into sadness.

The symptoms of depression are known to cause people significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, and other important areas of life. However, many people still mistakenly view these symptoms or the desire to get treatment as signs of weak character, lack of fortitude, or an inability to pull oneself up by the bootstraps (Harvard Medical School Special Health Report, 2011).

In fact, WHO announced in March 2017 that rates of depression have risen by more than 18 percent since 2005, but lack of support for mental health, combined with a common fear of stigma, means many people do not get the treatment they need to live healthy, productive lives.

Check back next week for part 2 of this important topic!