Mbale, Uganda: The Bamasaaba cultural institution has raised serious concern over the rising cases of mental health breakdown among youth and adults in Bugisu sub-region, with reports linking the crisis to rampant abuse of narcotics and other harmful substances.
Steven Masiga, the spokesperson of the cultural institution, sounded the alarm while speaking to DailyExpress on Monday after visiting the psychiatric ward at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, where he found several of his former schoolmates admitted in critical mental conditions.
“I was disturbed by what I saw. Some of these young men were my old boys from Nabumali High School and Makerere University. I thought they were working in Kampala, only to find them mentally broken and admitted at Mbale psychiatric ward,” Masiga said.
Masiga warned that mental health cases in Bugisu are rapidly increasing, and the cultural leadership will intensify campaigns to discourage behaviors driving young people into mental collapse.
“Both students and ordinary people are falling victim. We cannot allow our children to waste away after their parents have sacrificed millions for their education,” he added.
A medical doctor at the psychiatric unit, who preferred anonymity to speak freely, revealed that most patients suffer from narcotic-induced mental disorders. The drugs, often trafficked and sold within urban centers by wealthy individuals, are contributing to a surge in mental illness across the region.
“These drugs lead to dangerous behaviors; theft, rape, defilement, arrogance, hallucinations, mood swings, and antisocial tendencies. Eventually, patients suffer liver and kidney failure and may die,” the medic warned.
Statistics from the facility show that male patients account for over 70% of the cases, with both boys and girls increasingly affected by drug abuse.
Masiga vowed that the Bamasaaba cultural institution under Umukuka III Jude Mike Mudoma will collaborate with mental health experts, police, schools, and community leaders to combat the vice. “As a cultural institution, we must take action. We are encouraging our people to abandon alcohol, shisha, and other harmful substances that slowly destroy lives,” he said.
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