The Uganda Association of Psychiatrists (UAP) says access to mental health care has improved in recent years following an increase in the number of psychiatrists from 28 in 2010 to 80 in 2025.
Dr Hillary Irimaso, the UAP president, said Thursday that despite the progress, the current numbers remain inadequate for the country’s growing mental health burden.
‘In the last few years, we have seen a surge in numbers of psychiatrists being churned out to serve an increasing demand,’ he said in Kampala on the sidelines of the UAP mental health symposium.
‘Mental health cases are increasing in the country but also, that increase had not been met by the increasing psychiatrists. The ratio of psychiatrist to patients is still very high, about 1:600,000,’ he added.
Dr Irimaso noted that the internationally accepted ratio is 1:30,000, saying Uganda should first aim for 1:100,000 before progressing toward the global standard.
At Butabika Hospital, the country’s main psychiatric referral centre, the shortage of specialists is even more pronounced. Dr Irene Apio, the only psychiatrist trained in forensic psychiatry, said she is overwhelmed by the number of criminal cases requiring mental health assessment.
She appealed for greater government investment in specialised psychiatric fields, especially forensic psychiatry, which handles offenders with mental health conditions.
Prof Noeline Nakasujja, a psychiatrist and lecturer at Makerere University College of Health Sciences, said specialised psychiatric training in Uganda takes about three years, but is available only to those who have completed a medical degree.
‘Training in psychiatry has evolved a lot. Initially it was only at Makerere University but now it is in many other universities: Gulu University, Mbarara University, Busitema University, Uganda Christian University, which begins at undergraduate level but then mastered at post-graduate level,’ she said.
Experts at the symposium said the steady growth of training institutions is helping expand the workforce, but warned that the pace remains far below what is required to match rising mental health needs across the country.