Scientists in Uganda have revealed that many urban refugees living in Kampala suffer from mental health-related problems.
Medical researchers from the Medical Research Center (MRC), the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), the Uganda Research Unit at Coventry University, and the CLAMP Project The CLAMP Project is a collaboration between support. Kampala is home to refugees from various countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.
Dr. Eugene Kinyanda, a psychiatrist and head of the mental health division of the MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, said on November 24 that approximately 470 of the 80,000 refugees living in Kampala receive mental health treatment. He said there was.
Dr Kinyanda was addressing the media at the offices of CLAMP (Uganda Refugee Community Welfare and Mental Health Project) in Rubaga.
“Uganda hosts more than 1.5 million refugees, and due to the trauma they have experienced, they experience many mental health problems, including depression, post-traumatic disorder, anxiety, and alcohol abuse, among others. ” he said.
“In collaboration with our partners and with the support of the CLAMP family, we have devised a model that we believe can address the burden of mental health issues,” he added.
The care model has three steps: a refugee peer counselor-led psychological intervention, a psychiatric nurse/psychiatric clinician-led intervention, and a community hospital or hospital where specialized mental health services are available, including assessment and evaluation. Includes referral to the mental health department of a national hospital. process.
“Our main focus is to select refugees and train them in counseling so they can develop resilience within their communities and counsel their peers to help manage depression, anxiety and psychological trauma. “As of today, seven refugees from Somali and Congo communities have been interviewed and hired as peer counselors,” said Dr. Kinyanda.
Dr Helen Liebling, a clinical psychologist at Coventry University, said the CLAMP project has been cited by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a good practice model for employing refugees as peer counselors.
“Evidence shows that confiding in others with similar experiences can help with recovery. There were also social enterprises, but they are no longer in place due to lack of funding and other challenges. If we receive additional funding, we will restart these and expand our services to other urban refugees, publishing our excellent work and conducting further evaluation, while providing support to other conflict survivors in Uganda, Africa, and around the world. We also want to extend the model to other patients,” Dr. Liebling said.
“The project also supports refugees to establish social enterprise projects that help them earn a sustainable income to support their families,” said Dr. Penelope Yanni, a psychiatrist and managing director of the CLAMP project. said. Social enterprises also provide group support where refugees can share and solve the challenges they face in a trusted space. Among the social projects started in 2019 were soap making and traditional Ugandan dressmaking. ”
Saidi Mbirizi from Congo, who currently works as a peer counselor at the Crump Project, said: “By training us, we learn how to deal with life’s stressors and solve real life challenges.” , I was given the power to help refugees within my scope.” community. ”
