A Critical Overview of Mental Health-Related Beliefs, Services and Systems in Uganda and Recent Activist and Legal Challenges

Abstract

As is true throughout the world, Ugandans with lived experience of mental illness, including survivors and those still in treatment or care, have been historically disregarded and mistreated. In Uganda specifically, the treatment and perception of those with mental illness has been historically interwoven with cultural beliefs about witchcraft and spirit possession, as well as the introduction and implementation of Western psychiatric practices (and institutions) during Uganda’s colonial period. Both have contributed to punitive practices, stigma and social rejection. Ugandan laws and human rights policies have also largely failed to ensure the rights and community inclusion of persons with psychosocial disabilities. Moving toward the present, a growing movement of human rights advocates have attempted to challenge practices that continue to promote exclusion and coercion. This brief overview of the history of mental health services in Uganda seeks to provide deeper context for current reform efforts.