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Health Cooperation
Integrated Health Program in Norther Uganda at University, Hospitals and District Level
Today is a very big day for me
as well for the mental health working group
because we have a very big challenge in our district of Gulu.
It was formally a very big district but lather it has been subdivided in two smaller districts again,
which are new, like Amoro and Oyam.
but still Italian Cooperation is having interventions in those districts, in the mental health concern.
The mental health is a really very neglected part of public health
because mental health used to be very little to people
but at the moment I find out the people are waking up to see what to do
with mental health problems, how to solve them
they are actually visiting the mental health.
Now, Italian Cooperation is one of the partner that has been supporting
the ministry of health in these three districts Gulu, Amoro and Oyam.
Today is the day of bringing mental health in the light
Because it is a long forgotten illness in the community.
People think when somebody is mental ill
he has should been taken up to Kampala, to Bitabiica,
they should actually be neglected
so the patients have been suffering a lot.
Mental Health does not only been when somebody is completly mad,
walking naked, doing everything
but it starts small. People are advised to come to the clinics
to see for help before it became a very big magnitude of illness.
So, today is when the mental health working group, including Italian Cooperation
who is the main supporter, for this illness,
are showing to the people that these problems can be solved here
and assistance for mental patients can be got here
and mental healt should be taken as a seriuos illness like any other illness.
This is the international mental health day
In Gulu we organized it so people of Gulu shuold also know
what mental health programs are.
And we also created informal sensitization for people around
I'm here to give you the warm welcome to all of you
particularly to the mental health unit.
When you reach this mental health unit you have reached Gulu Regional Referal Hospital.
Allow me guests of honor to welcome all the guests and in particular welcome you
and we appreciate the fact that you leave all your schedules and grace this occasion
I am very happy of this.
We are the nurses, who help the patients.
We are the nurses, who help the patients.
Mental Health is here, and it's helps us for sure.
It's here and it helps us.
This unit you see in front of you, which is the mental health unit, is regional unit
which has being established in around 2003,
in line with Government policies
and Ministry of Health policy on mandate
on providing health services to people of Uganda.
Gulu has the potential of actually having a lot of mental health patients,
because of the historical background in the last 20 years, what has been happened.
People have been adapted, they have been staying in the bush
so they are so much traumatized, they lost their young ones.
Because of insecurity they have no job, people resolve drinking and with drugs.
You find out that cases of mental health are really high but it's actually neglected
We are trying to bring forward clinics, we are trying to bring forward treatments.
I am very grateful that Italian Cooperation has done a lot for this.
For the mentally ill is everybody responsability
That's why we took a march through the town to tell the people
everybody has a stance in mental health
All of us contribute towards the wellbeing
on managmenting mental illness
We know that it's a problem in each of our families.
We know that every time we walk throught the streets, we go to the villages, everywhere
there are people having these problems.
So today we are calling everybody to come and be a part
of solving or finding solutions for people have been affected
I am so glad as we walked through the town
many many people came out to see what we are doing.
I don't want to repeat the challenges that we have
but we do still have many challenges
Talking to the community to let them know that we have services and it's possible to get treatments for this disease.
We want each of you to be our ambassador wherever you go
and tell people that there are mental health services in the Gulu Regional Referal Hospital
and in other health centers in Uganda, have been working with the mental health units to avail these services in the lower health centers.
The plays and the songs are all referring to
and this is integrated in many illnesses in primary health care.
You have seen that they are not fearing many patients here.
So what we need is to bring our patients, our brothers, wives, husbands, children
This is the place. Don't fear to come!
I am very happy for this mental health day today.
I think it's the first one
You take of your clothes,you take care of your teeth,
but you forget what is in the skull,
is it not so?
We spend a lot of money on the hair
but what the brain contains
the skull contains we forget it.
And therefore it is not appeared, not to be a priority.
And that's why we are commemorating today..
Take care of your brain, it's the control of everything
and it's the most ignored.
It's the most ignored
and once we saw pictures of being a little bit different
then we say: "That is a mental case"
We now stigmatize that is a God case
and that is the problem.
But if our brains in a weigh scale
we find 99% of us have one form of mental disorder
Ok?
So it's part of us. We are integrated in, among ourself
The primary health care is you and me.
Let's accept that mental health exists
and we must handle it.
That is the message we would like to give you.
If it has not been a priority
it must be a priority to you, to me..today.
I am very happy to our partners, I am very happy to Gulu hospital.
I am very happy that you have made this day possible.
It is the first time for us to have the mental health day.
The first day that we are trying to make the awareness.
Mental health is not responsability only of the health workers,
it is our responsability.
The day of today has showed us
that mental health is really important part of health
in the community.
And the people should be treated with some dignity
and egual treatment required for them.
I am very grateful for this.
Let me specially thank the representatives of these NGOs,
organizations and donors,
to have been given support to us.
I will mention them again, not to repeat them
but just to stress the support by the Italian Cooperation
for this mental health unit, they have done trainings
and one of the equipment we are using, we are supposed to use or we are about to use
was actually donated by Italian Cooperation.
Italian equipment to test the mental state.
And they are going to train some people of the staff to use this equipment.
I really want to thank them for this support.
We want mention AVSI, Watoto Church and TPO, that is always with us,
they have an office just next door.
And most of the support has done by this organization.
Please accept my appreciation that we have this staff for the hopspital.
Allow me to maximum welcome everybody to this function
and I wish you a very good partecipation in the function and I thank you for coming.
Integrated Health Program in Norther Uganda at University, Hospitals and District Level