Health officials in Mbale District have decried the increasing cases of mental illnesses among teenagers in the region.
The deputy in-charge of the Psychiatric Unit at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, Dr David Masaba, said on Wednesday during the commissioning of family clinic for children in Mbale Town, that they admit at least 20 children with mental-related cases a month.
“It is devastating yet little attention has been paid to mental diseases in the country,” Dr Masaba, said.
Dr Masaba attributed the increase in the number of cases among adolescents to rampant use of drugs and alcohol.
“And this has been made worse due to lack of stringent laws prohibiting the use of drugs,” he said.
Dr John Khauka, the founder of Family Clinic in Uganda, a first of its kind in eastern region, said government should rethink and channel more resources to address mental health.
“The government allocates huge sums of money in controlling malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/Aids, forgetting that mental illness is one of the health areas that need more attention,” he said.
Dr Khauka said the problem has been compounded by lack of enough technical staff to handle such cases among children.
“Apart from mental illness being expensive to treat, there are few experts,” he said, adding that the few psychiatrists available in the country are in Kampala and in administrative positions.
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