Category: Daily Monitor

Davis Niyoyita arrived in Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh as Uganda’s biggest bet for any medal in weightlifting action at the sixth World Islamic Solidarity Games.

But his hopes went crumbling on Sunday afternoon after he posted seventh place in the men’s 60kg category at the Boulevard City 1.

Niyoyita successfully snatched 95kg on the first take and at clean and jerk, he ably lifted 125kg on the third and last attempt to complete with 220 in total.

‘It was okay though I was sick that’s why I didn’t lifted heavier,’ Niyoyita told this paper via phone on Sunday night.

Gold medalist in the 55kg class at the African Games in Accra, Ghana last year, Niyoyita travelled to Riyadh with flue and heavy cough, implying a painful chest at competition time.

‘And I couldn’t take any medication because I thought I would be doped. The competition was ok just I was in pain inside my lungs and nose but I believe next time will better,’

In September, Niyoyita had finished 18th in 60kg competition with 225 at the World Weightlifting Championships at Førdehuset in Førde, Norway.

The 21-year-old hopes he can scale up his prowess to qualify and be selected for the Commonwealth Games set for Glasgow, Scotland in late July.

Like Niyoyita, Faluku Figo Kyambadde came 10th at Boulevard City 1 with 185, snatching 100kg and 125kg in clean and jerk.

Meanwhile, Aisha Namataka will be in action in Riyadh in the 86kg category. The only female Ugandan lifter in the Middle East, Namataka is a three-time national champion and felt undone by a fourth place finish in Accra last year.

Uganda won two medals at the weekend, Alfred Ojok boxing to bronze in the 80kg category while swimmer Gloria Muzito powered to gold in the 50 metres freestyle event.

2025 ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY GAMES

ACTION – TUESDAY

WEIGHTLIFTING: Aisha Namataka (86kg)

2025 ISLAMIC SOLIDARITY GAMES

MEN’S WEIGHTLIFTING – 60KG RESULTS

1 Muhammad Husni (INA) 283

2 Burak Aykun (TUR) 267

3 Ali Elsayed (EGY) 265

7 Davis Niyoyita (UGA) 220

MEN’S WEIGHTLIFTING – 65KG RESULTS

1 Muhammed Furkan Özbek (TUR) 310

2 Adkhamjon Ergashev (UZB) 304

3 Seraj Al-Saleem (KSA) 303

10 Faluku Figo Kyambadde (UGA) 185

UGANDA’S MEDALS AT THE ISG

2005 Mecca: Boniface Kiprop (Athletics – 10000 Metres Bronze)

2017 Baku: Halimah Nakaayi (Athletics – 800 Metres Silver)

2021 Konya: Abel Chebet (Athletics – 5000 Metres Silver and 10000 Metres Gold), Kirabo Namutebi (Swimming – 50 Metres Freestyle Silver), Husnah Kukundakwe (Swimming – 100 Metres Breaststroke SB4-SB9 Gold, 200 Metres Individual Medley SM5-SM10 Gold, 50 Metres Freestyle S4-S10, 400 Metres Freestyle S6-S10 Silver, 100 Metres Backstroke S6-S10 Silver, 100 Metres Freestyle S4-S10 Bronze)

2025 Riyadh: Alfred Ojok (Boxing – 80kg Bronze), Gloria Muzito (Swimming – 50 Metres Freestyle Gold)

In the military, there is a concept known as the uncoordinated movement of troops. This happens when units or individuals act independently, without a unified plan. The result is often confusion, accidental clashes, and even civilian harm.

The causes are clear: lack of a central command, conflicting objectives, and communication breakdown.

Sadly, this same scenario is playing out in West Nile where local governments are moving in an uncoordinated manner in the battle to protect the environment and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Districts continue to operate in isolation, pursuing their own agendas, failing to share information, and leaving natural resources vulnerable. The result? The inability by districts to make a meaningful impact in preserving the region’s ecosystems.

The people of West Nile depend heavily on natural resources; farming, fishing, grazing, timber harvesting, charcoal burning, and sand mining, for survival. Over the years, this dependence has shifted into over-reliance, putting immense pressure on the very resources that sustain communities.

Two main factors drive this over-reliance. First is population pressure. West Nile is home to an estimated 3.48 million people, including nationals and refugees. The region hosts more than half of Uganda’s refugee population, approximately 950,000 people from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Refugees need shelter and land for cultivation. In the process, trees are cut, wetlands encroached upon, and riverbanks cleared.

The second factor is poverty. According to the 2022/2023 Multidimensional Poverty Index by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos), 59 percent of West Nile residents live below the poverty line.

This widespread poverty restricts access to alternative energy sources, meaning communities must rely heavily on the environment for their daily needs.

The 2024 National Housing and Population Census shows that only 1.2 percent of households have access to clean energy such as solar power or electricity from the grid, while 79.4 percent depend on firewood for cooking and 16.7 percent on charcoal.

Under these circumstances, the environment serves as both pantry and power source, leaving little room for sustainable resource management.

The cost of this dependence is high. Forests disappear faster than they can regenerate, wetlands are encroached upon, and riverbanks degrade.

The loss of vegetation leaves West Nile increasingly vulnerable to climate change: unpredictable rainfall, prolonged droughts, and declining soil fertility. These changes directly impact livelihoods.

Ubos estimates that 69.4 percent of the population in West Nile are food insecure, mainly due to crop failure linked to environmental degradation.

Given the severity of the problem and its impacts, one would expect a coordinated and robust response. Yet, the reality is quite different. Efforts to address environmental degradation remain fragmented and localised.

Each district operates in isolation, even though environmental challenges do not respect administrative boundaries. What the region has long lacked is a common front; a unified approach to protecting its shared natural resources.

Nonetheless, that long-standing gap may now be closing. On October 21, the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (Acode) and WENDA, with support from the Royal Danish Embassy, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Embassy of Ireland, and Sweden under the PACER programme, facilitated the formation of the West Nile Natural Resources Officers’ Committee.

This committee becomes the central command for environmental management in the region to ensure a coordinated movement of troops. Environmental challenges are similar across districts, and so should be the solutions. Through the committee, districts can share data, harmonise laws, jointly monitor ecosystems, and coordinate community sensitisation.

Crucially, the committee enhances law enforcement, which has long been weakened by limited local capacity and resources. Support from local governments is essential.

The law already provides a framework for collaboration: Section 8(1) of the Local Government Act, Cap 138, allows districts to work together on matters of culture and development, as guided by Article 178 of the Constitution. Environmental protection should, therefore, serve as a unifying cause for the region.

Districts must also actively contribute to sustaining the committee. Section 80 empowers local governments to use local revenue at their discretion, making it possible for councils to allocate funds for this purpose.

With adequate support, the committee could turn fragmented efforts into a coordinated campaign, restore the balance between people and nature, and secure a sustainable future for the region.

Through the Committee, districts can share data, harmonise laws, and coordinate community sensitisation.

In every organisation, procurement is the lifeblood that keeps operations flowing. It’s normally 80 percent of the total financial budget. It determines whether projects succeed, supplies arrive on time, and resources are used efficiently.

Yet beneath the surface of many institutions, public and private alike, lurks an ailment that quietly drains their strength: a sick procurement department. When procurement ‘gets sick,’ the symptoms rarely appear overnight.

They creep in slowly, hidden behind piles of paperwork, late deliveries, inflated prices, and unexplained supplier preferences.

Often, the warning signs are ignored until the damage becomes too visible to hide, when budgets balloon, donor confidence fades, and reputations crumble. One of the earliest signs of sickness is misalignment.

A healthy procurement unit works hand in hand with management to deliver on the organisation’s mission. Every purchase serves a purpose. But when procurement becomes reactive, responding only to emergencies rather than planning ahead, the system shifts into survival mode.

Constant ‘firefighting’ replaces strategy, and purchasing becomes a series of rushed transactions instead of deliberate decisions. Another red flag is process paralysis. Outdated policies, missing guidelines, or unclear approval limits create confusion and room for manipulation.

You’ll hear familiar excuses: ‘We’ve always done it this way,’ or ‘There wasn’t time for competitive bidding.’

Such practices open the door to favouritism, waste, and corruption. Meanwhile, documentation disappears, and the same vendors mysteriously keep winning contracts. The financial consequences are severe.

Leakages begin to show through over-invoicing, duplicate payments, or unnecessary purchases. ‘Emergency’ procurements become a routine excuse to bypass procedure.

Projects that were once cost-effective now overrun budgets with little to show for it. In truth, a sick procurement department doesn’t just waste money, it erodes trust and efficiency across the entire organisation.

Ethical decay is another symptom. When procurement officers blur the line between professional duty and personal interest, integrity collapses. Kickbacks, ‘thank you gifts,’ and friendly favours start to influence who gets what contract.

Over time, corruption becomes normalised, a quiet cancer that eats away at the organisation’s moral fabric.

The effects ripple outward. Genuine suppliers lose faith in the fairness of tenders. Honest businesses are pushed aside by those with ‘connections.’ Internal departments or stakeholders grow frustrated by delays and poor-quality goods.

Eventually, auditors uncover the truth: missing files, unclear evaluations, and blatant noncompliance with policy. But by then, the damage is often deep and expensive to repair.

By contrast, a healthy procurement department is a strategic ally. It operates transparently, embraces technology, and focuses on value for money, not just price.

It nurtures supplier relationships, sets measurable performance goals, and enforces accountability at every step.

Most importantly, it serves as a steward of integrity, ensuring that every coin spent delivers genuine benefit.

Healing a sick procurement department requires leadership courage. It means facing uncomfortable truths, updating policies, digitising systems, and rotating staff in sensitive roles.

It also means investing in people, through training, ethical reinforcement, and recognition of professional excellence. Procurement is not merely about buying goods and services. It’s about building trust, protecting resources, and enabling progress.

Whether in a government agency, non profit organisation, or private company, the procurement function stands as the conscience of financial stewardship.

So, the next time deliveries delay, budgets inflate, or suppliers seem suspiciously familiar, don’t dismiss it as ordinary inefficiency.

You may be witnessing the early stages of an institutional illness-one that, if ignored, can cripple even the most successful organisation. Because when procurement gets sick, the whole body suffers.

Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, the two Kenyan activists who were held in detention in Uganda for 38 days, fell ill and spent a week in a military hospital, it can be revealed.

Upon discharge from the hospital, the duo were taken to a safe house where they stayed for three days before being moved on Thursday ahead of their release on Friday night.

Upon their arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday afternoon, Mr Njagi and Mr Oyoo said that they would go for a medical check-up before revealing the extent of their ordeal.

According to Norbert Ochieng, the elder brother of Mr Oyoo, the two families had been informed several days earlier that there was a likelihood their kin would be released, although no specific date had been given.

The release of two Kenyan political activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, who went missing in Uganda after attending a campaign rally for National Unity Platform presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, on October 1 brought an end to the ping-pong over their whereabouts.

While security and legal agencies had before said they did not know the whereabouts of the activists, President Museveni’s revelation ended the speculation.

‘Here we have got very good intelligence. We arrested two Kenyans who were working with Kyagulanyi’s group, that they are experts in riots,’ President Museveni said during a media briefing at Mbale State Lodge at the weekend.

The President’s comments followed the release of the duo last Friday.

Bobi Wine was among officials who announced their release on Saturday: ‘After 39 days under incommunicado detention and torture, our Kenyan brothers Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo have been released at the Kenya-Uganda border at Busia. They’re now headed back to Nairobi. I have just spoken to them and they have told me that they were being held by Museveni’s son [Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba] at Kasenyi military barracks.’ The duo was last seen on October 1 in Kaliro District, Busoga Sub-region in eastern Uganda, where they were reportedly abducted by armed men in military and civilian clothing at a filling station.

Ugandan authorities are yet to issue an official statement regarding the release. But Ugandan police spokesman Kituma Rusoke told this publication yesterday that the duo was not in their custody. ‘They might have been held by any other security agency in line with issues affecting national security,’ he said. Maj Jimmy Omara, the spokesperson of Special Forces Command, an elite force responsible for guarding the President and important national installations, said he had shared the release details with his leaders and would get us a response as soon as he gets a briefing. On October 6, lawyers from Kiiza and Mugisha Advocates filed a habeas corpus petition, listing four top Ugandan security officials as respondents: Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba; the Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security; the Inspector General of Police; and the Attorney General of Uganda.

Their colleague, Koffi Atinda, later filed an affidavit recounting the incident.

‘I witnessed my friends being taken in a Toyota Hiace van, commonly known as a ‘Drone,’ by men in both military and civilian clothes. I later learnt they were taken to Mbuya military facility,’ Atinda stated. ‘As citizens of Kenya and members of the East African Community, we have the right to move freely and participate in civic activities without harassment,’ he said. NUP Secretary General Lewis Rubongoya also filed an affidavit supporting the petition, urging the government to produce the detainees. The High Court in Kampala issued a habeas corpus order on October 14, directing the government to produce the missing Kenyans, dead or alive, by October 21.

Justice Simon Peter Kinobe presided over the case and later dismissed the application on October 22, categorising the men as missing persons, because security agencies denied holding the men and had complied with the court’s order to investigate their whereabouts. Consequently, the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) declined to intervene, citing a lack of jurisdiction due to the matter being before the court. ‘They applied for habeas corpus in the High Court. Article 53 of the Constitution bars us from intervening in any matter that is in court… but I would call upon whatever State agency that is holding them to set them free,’ Ms Mariam Wangadya, the UHRC chairperson, said on October 13.

She responded shortly after a group of activists led by Nobert Ochieng Opeto and Tony Njagi, who are brothers of the activists, joined by their colleagues James Ssuuna and John Owor Masanja, petitioned UHRC on October 10, asking it to act and compel Ugandan security agencies to disclose their whereabouts. On October 16, Ms Isabella Njagi, Mr Njagi’s mother, speaking in a video, appealed to Uganda’s First Lady Janet Museveni to intervene. ‘I promise you that once released, I will personally talk to them and ask them never to step in Uganda again… We love you and…we are proud to see you mothering that nation,’ she said.

As Uganda and other African nations confront the realities of aging populations and widespread informal employment, the pension sector finds itself at a pivotal moment.

With fewer than 20 percent of older persons in Sub-Saharan Africa receiving any form of pension, the urgency for reform is clear.

The solution may lie in a powerful but underutilised partner: the insurance industry. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, pension coverage remains alarmingly low.

According to the International Labour Organisation, only 19.8 percent of persons above retirement age receive a pension, compared to the global average of 77.5 percent.

In Uganda, the situation is similarly dire. Of the 17.2 million-strong labour force, only 1.97 million are covered by any pension scheme-just 12.6 percent of the active workforce.

This gap is largely due to the dominance of informal employment, which accounts for over 80 percent of Uganda’s workforce. These workers-boda boda riders, market vendors, domestic workers, and artisans are excluded from formal pension arrangements, leaving them vulnerable to poverty in old age.

The implications are profound.

With life expectancy in Uganda rising from 47 to 63 years the past two decades, and retirement years stretching from under 10 to nearly 17 years, lack of pension savings poses a growing fiscal and social risk.

As the population ages, the burden on families and the state increases, unless sustainable retirement solutions are put in place.

The current pension system is fragmented. Uganda has multiple schemes, including the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the Public Service Pension Scheme, and a few private and occupational schemes.

However, these are largely limited to formal sector employees, leaving the vast majority of Ugandans without any form of retirement income.

Insurance companies are uniquely positioned to strengthen and expand pension systems. Their role can be transformative in several key areas such as mobilising long-term capital. Africa’s pension and insurance sectors collectively manage over $777 billion in assets. Yet, much of this capital remains locked in short-term, low-risk instruments such as government securities.

Redirecting even a portion toward infrastructure, housing, and industrial development could significantly boost economic growth. In Uganda where infrastructure financing needs are estimated at over $1.4 billion annually, tapping into these domestic resources could reduce reliance on foreign aid and borrowing.

Insurance companies, with their long-term investment horizon, are natural partners in financing roads, energy projects, and affordable housing. Countries like Ghana and Nigeria have already begun exploring frameworks that allow pension and insurance funds to invest in infrastructure through public-private partnerships. U

ganda can follow suit by creating investment vehicles that meet both regulatory requirements and development needs.

Secondly, insurance firms can develop hybrid products that combine life insurance with retirement savings, offering protection and income security. These products can be tailored to the needs of informal workers, who often have irregular incomes and limited financial literacy. Kenya’s Mbao pension plan is a successful example.

It allows informal workers to contribute as little as Kshs20 (Shs600) per day via mobile money. Rwanda’s Ejo-Heza long-term savings scheme offers government top-ups for low-income savers, incentivising participation. Uganda has begun similar efforts.

However, these remain underutilised due to limited awareness, incentives and weak distribution channels. One of the greatest challenges in retirement planning is ensuring that individuals do not outlive their savings.

Lastly, low levels of financial literacy and mistrust in formal institutions hinder pension uptake and this is something that requires building trust and financial literacy. Many Ugandans are unaware of the benefits of saving for retirement or fear losing their money in poorly managed schemes.

Insurance companies can lead public education campaigns to promote a culture of savings and build confidence in financial systems. This is vital in Uganda, where 50 percent of eligible NSSF contributors are non-compliant, limiting fund growth and sustainability. Community outreach, radio programs, and partnerships with religious and cultural leaders can help demystify pensions and insurance. Uganda is at a strategic inflection point.

The public service pension fund Bill 2024 proposes a shift from a non-contributory to a contributory scheme, with public servants contributing five percent of their salary, topped up by 10 percent from the employer.

This reform aligns with the broader goals of the National Development Plan IV, which emphasizes inclusive growth and social protection.

The Assistant Commissioner for Community Health in charge of disability and rehabilitation in the Ministry of Health, Dr Moses Muwanga, has said the government is set to train teachers on eye care to enable them identify eye defects amongst students and refer them to medical institutions for proper eye care.

‘We have established interventions at school levels in the community programme, we have established visual reading corridors where we place some letters on the wall so every child can stand across that reading corridor and can estimate whether he has a problem’ he said.

He added, ‘Every child would stand in that corridor close his eye and look at it, if he cannot read then he goes to the teacher and then a referral system happens.. we go to these schools and find out how many children have that problem, then these children are referred in our health structures right here from health center three up to the regional level’.

Dr Muwanga made the remarks during the opening of the cross country child eye health workshop between Mozambique, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and Uganda in Entebbe on Monday to map out a five year eye health strategy which will run in Uganda and five other sub Saharan countries.

‘Not everybody who has a problem with the eye may have a refractive problem. It might be an infection which can be locally treated there and then they are referred up’ he said.

Dr Muwanga said the ministry is seeking to have a roadmap of screening people and after referring them for treatment in order to reduce on the eye care burden in Uganda where every three out of 10 people have eye problems.

‘It even becomes worse in some areas where you find that five in ten people have a problem of eye care so as a country we are trying to find out the prevalence of people who have an eye problem’ he said.

The Director for Light for the World (LFW) Uganda Mr Silvester Kasozi said there is need for integrated eye health and economic empowerment to contribute to social inclusion across the country.

‘Most of our development as individuals is through the eye, that is almost 80 percent, once you don’t have proper eyesight, that is definitely curtailed, and that is not to say that those who are visually impaired cannot thrive. They can thrive, but compared to those who actually have proper vision, they are definitely way much better’ he said.

Mr Kasozi urged for the training of more ophthalmologists to help curb the growing eye care burden in the country.

‘We have about 60 of them in the country and that is not to include those who are in their retirement. imagine one person to one million people and what that means, that is what makes also services very expensive since many people across the country are seeking for the few professionals’ he said.

The LWF Thematic Director for child eye health and uncorrected refractive errors Mr Wolfgang Gindorfer said training of teachers to identify children who have sight problems will ensure that after examination, they are either referred for medical treatment or provided with clinically necessary spectacles.

‘We have started to develop a school eye health manual, which is now integrated in the teacher trainings curriculum, so that all teachers learn about school eye health, how to do a simple visual acuity test, after they have gone through their training as teachers, they can do acuity tests in the schools where they are posted’ he said.

Mr Wolfgang said there is need for tax exemption on optical corrections, spectacles and low vision assistive devices among others for people with eye defects in order to enable the affected receive the fully recommended health care.

The Burkina Faso LFW eye health programme manager, Ms Olga Kabre said as part of enhancing good eye health, an effective national eye health program has been set up to promote development of child eye health and strengthening capacities of ophthalmologists through continuous training and sub specialisation on specifically pediatric ophthalmology.

A change in tooth colour is caused by factors such as external stains from food, drinks, and tobacco, and internal factors such as disease, genetics, certain medications, or damage to the enamel itself. It is a common clinical and esthetic problem that has a significant impact on psychological status, social interaction, and well-being.

A study carried out at Ibadan University in West Africa showed that out of every 100 patients who reported to the hospital, nine patients self-reported tooth discolouration. In Uganda today, this area is greatly under-researched, and pain is a major reason for seeking dental treatment in our environment. Patients report discolouration as a precursor or sequel to pain. Discolouration of teeth is an aesthetic problem that is linked to a variety of causes, and it could be a source of embarrassment, leading to reduced self-esteem.

Tooth colour ranges from greyish white to yellowish. However, a lot of people desire white teeth, which shows that tooth colour is a very important factor determining patients’ satisfaction with dental appearance. Most tooth staining is extrinsic; it originates from pigments in foods, beverages, habits, mouth rinses, and occupation that are deposited or react with the tooth surface microenvironment.

Causes

There is considerable individual variation in the appearance, severity, and treatment of tooth discolouration depending on the type of discolouration, frequency of exposure, age, and home care.

Intrinsic tooth discolouration is caused by the incorporation of chromogens during tooth development due to metabolic, systemic, and genetic disorders or drugs. Tooth discolouration after tooth eruption is caused by drugs, chemicals, and pulpal sources.

Dentists should have a good understanding of the types and mechanisms of stain formation so that appropriate treatment can be performed, as well as explaining to the patient the nature of the staining and its prevention.

As a patient, practice good oral hygiene; brush teeth twice a day for at least two minutes with fluoride toothpaste, and floss daily. Limit stain-causing foods and drinks: reduce consumption of coffee, tea, red wine, and dark sodas, and rinse your mouth with water after consuming them.

Be careful with acidic foods; wait about an hour before brushing after eating or drinking acidic items to avoid pressing the acid into the enamel.

Consult a dentist

A dentist can help identify the cause of discolouration and recommend treatment options such as microabrasion for superficial stains.

Medics say Uganda is sitting on a silent mental health crisis-one fuelled not only by rising cases of depression, drug abuse, and suicide, but by a chronic shortage of funding. Sources told Daily Monitor that while thousands of Ugandans are battling mental illness, government budget allocations to mental health remain alarmingly low, leaving hospitals without drugs, districts without psychiatric units, and families without hope.

Mental health experts now want Uganda to uphold its commitment to the Abuja Declaration of 2001, which recommends a 15 percent allocation in the national budget for health so that mental health can be given a reasonable allocation. Uganda currently allocates about 6 percent of the budget to the health sector.

Ms Sarah Mbabazi, a mental health counsellor, said low budget allocation emerges is one of the biggest challenges to effective management of mental health.

She observed the urgent need to support the mental health and psychosocial needs of people.

‘Poor mental health is not inevitable, and together with adequate support from the government, we can help everyone have better mental health,’ she said.

During this year’s World Mental Health Day, celebrated every October 10, the campaign focused on the urgent need to support the mental health and psychosocial needs of people affected by humanitarian emergencies. At the national level, only a tiny fraction of the health budget goes to psychiatric services, leaving hospitals and health centres with inadequate drugs, limited infrastructure, and an acute shortage of trained mental health workers.

For instance, Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital-the country’s main referral facility for psychiatric cases-remains overcrowded and under-resourced, struggling to cope with the growing number of patients from across the country. In rural areas, the situation is even worse. Several districts lack psychiatric units, forcing patients to travel long distances for treatment. Others go untreated, often ending up in communities without proper care, where stigma and discrimination make matters worse.

Mental health advocates warn that unless the government increases investment in this area, Uganda risks a hidden crisis that undermines productivity, education, and family life. Ms Vivian Olgah Kudda, a clinical psychologist at Minders Wellness and Psychological Centre in Ntinda, Kampala, said the severe impact of low budgets on mental health services in Uganda is concerning. ‘The low budget affects human resources for mental health. With gaps in staffing, only a small portion of Ugandans will access services, and yet the need is substantial and costly,’ she said.

Ms Kudda explained that limited funding also shifts the burden of paying for psychotropic medication to individuals and their families, as government facilities often cannot stock these medicines. While efforts have been made to integrate mental health into general healthcare, Ms Kudda said this requires trained medical staff who can identify, support, and refer patients-a process hindered by meagre resources. Infrastructure and systems for mental health also suffer, with units in many hospitals remaining dilapidated due to low budget allocations.

Last week, Parliament expressed concern over severe overcrowding and limited access to rehabilitation services at Butabika hospital, where the patient population has surpassed capacity by more than 118 percent. The hospital, designed to accommodate 550 patients, is currently housing more than 1,200.

Recently, Dr Juliet Nakku, the executive director of Butabika hospital, attributed the situation to inadequate development budgets, which have stalled infrastructure expansion.

‘The hospital is oversubscribed by 118 percent, which strains all aspects of service delivery,” Dr Nakku said. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in eight people globally; approximately 970 million, lives with a mental disorder. Recent research from The Onward Project on wellbeing and adversity (TOPOWA) reveals alarming trends among young women in Kampala’s slums. The study found that 65 percent of women aged 18 to 24 reported one or more mental health concerns, with 34 percent presenting with anxiety and nearly one in three reporting depression. Also, 46 percent reported having suicidal thoughts, and about 32 percent reported two or more mental health concerns.

Mr David Masaba, the Mbale regional mental health coordinator, revealed that mental health receives only 1 percent of the national health budget, of which 70 percent is allocated to Butabika hospital. ‘The remaining 30 percent of the budget is shared among 13 referral hospitals across the country, and it only caters for procurement of drugs, leaving out crucial activities such as community outreaches, empowering lower health facilities, and school-based programmes,’ Dr Masaba said. He added that mental health management is further constrained by inadequate staffing.

While collaboration with lower health facilities could ease the burden on referral hospitals, most of these facilities lack trained mental health personnel, leaving referrals on the verge of congestion. For example, Mbale hospital, which has a bed capacity of 34, is currently accommodating 40 patients. ‘Regionally, mental health cases are on the rise, mainly due to substance and drug-related issues, especially among the youth,’ he added. According to Ministry of Health statistics, 14 percent of Uganda’s population is affected by mental health conditions, a figure that represents about 33 percent of the global average. Among these, 22.9 percent are youth and adolescents.

Dr Masaba proposed strengthening lower health facilities through community mental health outreaches and regular technical support supervision as a sustainable solution to decongest referral hospitals. He also urged policymakers to advocate for increased funding to improve staffing, medicine supply, and mental health unit expansion. Meanwhile, non-profit organisations are stepping in to plug gaps. JENGA Community Development Outreach, based in Mbale District, has launched training programmes for cultural and religious leaders to improve community-level responses to mental health challenges.

Ms Jacent Nawanga, the team leader for health and wellbeing at JENGA, explained that the initiative was informed by delays in hospital referrals, often caused when patients are kept in churches and mosques under the belief that mental illness is a spiritual problem. ‘Most of these patients are delayed while being prayed for in churches and mosques. When no progress is recorded, they are eventually referred to hospitals, but sometimes too late,’ she said. Mr Steven Chemutai, a mental health expert, said several patients resort to private rehabilitation centres, which charge an average of Shs75, 000 per day, due to the limited space at Butabika hospital.

Ms Kudda said Uganda could see an increased prevalence of mental health conditions, which will strain the healthcare system and negatively impact the economic and social fabric of the country. ‘Productivity will dwindle. With a population of over 45 million, about 70 percent of whom are young people-the most productive yet high-risk age group-reduced productivity will push more individuals below the poverty line,’ Ms Kudda said. According to statistics from Butabika hospital, 24.7 percent of its admissions in 2022 were due to substance use. Out of those, 44 percent were due to alcohol, 25 percent were due to cannabis and 2.5 percent were due to substances like khat.

Butabika hospital

The Auditor General’s report on Butabika National Mental Referral Hospital for the audit year ended December 2024 revealed severe challenges in staffing, overcrowding, and limited rehabilitation capacity at Uganda’s only national mental referral hospital. According to the findings, Butabika hospital was allocated Shs2 billion for essential medicines and health supplies under the National Medical Stores during that financial year.

Ms Angela Nsimbi, a mental health activist and team lead at the Heart2Heart Chat Mental Health Programme, said Uganda still has a long way to go in addressing mental health challenges. She noted that although Butabika National Referral Hospital offers free medication, the supply is often inconsistent. ‘When drugs run out, many patients who cannot afford to buy medicine go without treatment for long periods,’ she said.

What must we do to save Kampala from becoming a huge modern slum? We need to create clear Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs) for each urban neighbourhood, as the primary guiding tools for urban expansion.

NDPs are a set of well-defined strategies, with respective support policies and action plans that are used in guiding the way cities are planned, developed, and managed.

NDPs are vital tools that help in specifying urban land-uses like infrastructure, housing planning, green spaces, as well as social, and economic development.

NDPs also provide clear action plans that help in addressing key urban challenges like public transport, social inequality, unemployment, environmental degradation, and waste management.

If comprehensively designed, NDPs are critical in addressing urban governance ambiguities, by clearly defining the roles and contributions of different stakeholders within the urban decision-making processes. This consequently leads to efficiency in urban decision-making, further driving urban sustainability.

Despite the benefits associated with NDPs, more than 90 percent of our urban authorities do have such plans to guide urban expansion. Our urban neighbourhoods are growing without clear policy direction and strategy.

For instance, Kisaasi Town has remained a single-street township for years. At the back of the single street, are merely disconnected and inaccessible paths, often ending at people’s gates.

In 2025, KCCA should have developed a well-detailed ‘Kisaasi Development Plan’, a 10-year strategy clearly defining how the township will look in the next 10 years, and the small actions that must be taken to achieve the set goal; or a ‘City Centre Strategy’ outlining the vision and physical set-up of the new downtown Kampala.

Such plans would, for example, help to define whether Nakivubo Channel, would be covered with green spaces or a shopping arcade; or whether new developments should be strictly mixed-use and single-use.

Without clear development plans for such areas, they are likely to remain ugly slums for decades to come.

This absence of a well-defined urban governance process, and a clear policy direction, explains why the President will continue approving development of retail spaces on top of drainage channels, or the minister in-charge of investments will, without shame, allow investors to destroy 150 acres of urban forest land to pave the way for the development of office spaces and shopping malls, worse still, without consulting jurisdictional urban authorities.

Such are clear indicators of a clogged urban governance system that must be overhauled immediately.

Considering the current rate of housing developments, it is likely that by 2050, every plot of land in Kampala will be built up, and non will be a greenspace.

Therefore, it’s not surprising that in 2022, Kampala was rated as one of the most heavily polluted cities in the world; and recently, this newspaper reported, that about five people die every day due to air pollution.

Available data also indicates that over 60 percent of Uganda’s urban population lives in slums, under the most degrading conditions.

The above urban challenges are increasingly being exacerbated by a Laissez-faire urban governance system – that accords overwhelming powers to land owners and developers who often disregard the basic principles of housing development – accessibility, connectivity, sustainability, aesthetic cohesion, and privacy; a corrupt political class that has failed to play its supervision function; an isolated and disempowered urban citizenry; and inactive urban authorities that have largely disengaged from their urban development duties of coordination, regulation, and control.

Successful regeneration of our cities will require clear policy direction, and not impulsive and reactionary responses from politicians, underscoring the urgent need for creating NDPs.