Anti-stigma pilot project in Kampala
Mental Health Uganda in partnership with Time to Change – TTC UK and CBM UK (through their Kampala office), is implementing a pilot project to address stigma around mental health. The programme is funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office / UK Department of Health and Social Care and Comic Relief.
According to the United Nations, 1 in 4 people around the world will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime. It is common that these people will face isolation, exclusion from work and family, increased poverty and other abuses of their human rights because of their mental health problems. This global response program was launched in 2018 after more than 10 years of successfully implementing the same model in the UK; and it shares three core elements:
Lived experience leadership: People with personal experiences of mental health problems (we call them ‘Champions’) shape and lead all that we do.
Social contact: This is the maiden campaign of this nature in Uganda, whereby Champions deliberately share their experiences with people without experience of mental health problems, with the aim of challenging negative attitudes and behaviours. 20 Champions are currently delivering social contact on varied occasions and via different platforms in and around Kampala since October 2019. By the end of March 2020, Champions had conducted 2,339 conversations with individuals. Social Contact is by far the most effective approach for disclosure and subsequently accessing care and treatment following referrals, for either the persons engaged in discussions or affected dependants. The open sharing by Champions builds confidence and triggers discussions on a topic that would otherwise never feature.
Social marketing: These are public campaigns, which allow us to reach more people, increase knowledge and change perceptions. By understanding the views of our target audience, we ensure that our messages and channels are effective in delivering attitude and behaviour change. We undertook a social marketing campaign (dubbed “kyogereko” or “speak up”) between January and February 2020, in Kampala, targeting youth between the ages of 18 – 25 years, with specific messaging (see www.kyogereko.co.ug).
Alongside Uganda, this pilot campaign is implemented in India, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya.