Mental health challenges: Govt develops app to counter suicides

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The Government, through the health ministry (MoH), has developed a self-care app to counter suicidal tendencies.

When the Ministry permanent secretary (PS) Dr Diana Atwine visited one of the secondary schools in the Greater Kampala metropolitan area, she received a horrifying tale from a teenage girl who was contemplating suicide after being molested by her own grandfather.

“Recently, I was in a certain school, where we saw a lot of vulnerability after talking to them,” Atwine said, adding: “Someone sent me a note asking to talk to me individually.”

She said that day, she received 500 notes from the 2,000 students.

“When I read what was happening in their homes, I cried. One girl testified how her grandfather had sexually molested her and infected her with HIV,” Atwiine revealed.

She made these remarks at Hotel Africana on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, during the inaugural L.I.V.E conference 2025, where she was the chief guest.

According to Atwiine, the girl is in Senior Five studying physics, chemistry, and biology. The PS informed her that she was no longer interested in going back home to endure these atrocious acts.

Like this girl, many are battling mental health challenges as a result, the ministry has designed the app to curb such occurrences.

Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among young adults aged between 15 to 29 years. Globally, 727,000 people die of suicide each year. The ministry stated that they are going to popularise the app soon among young people.

She said the app is user-friendly and has many mental health components, and conveys relevant information.

The health ministry is also revamping its call centres, and this app will be linked to the various health centres through a toll-free telephone line to interact with our expert medical staff.

In 2021, Uganda experienced a surge in suicide cases, about 220,000, due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown, and the health ministry projects that this figure could be even higher now.

Healing journey

Bank of Uganda’s executive director of Information Technology (IT) Collin Babirukamu, who recently lost his brother to suicide last year, shared his grief and healing experience.

“We were dealing with the cycles of grief; some of us have chosen not to waste the pain,” he said. 

Babirukamu revealed that on the fateful day, on May 31, 2024, when he received the untimely news of his brother’s death, he was away with a group of old friends attending an annual general meeting.

“I got a call from my mother who asked me to check the family WhatsApp group. It was a goodbye message from my brother John- saying ‘I hope I do not distress you with my death".

The BOU official said, despite the frantic calls from their various family members, including himself, none of them was answered by his brother.

By the time they got to him, it was too late. He had already taken his life.

Andrew Rugasira, the chairperson of the organising committee of the conference, said the LIVE Conference is the first discussion that has brought people from all walks of life, health practitioners, professionals, young people, family members who have lived with the loss of a family member who has committed suicide, health care givers, policy makers, all coming together to have a national conversation on this World Suicide Prevention Day. 

“Over a million people die from committing suicide, which is bigger than war, HIV, and AIDS, and it is the second largest cause of death in the age group of 15 to 29. So, it's a huge issue. So, by coming together, the first thing we're doing is to have a conversation around this issue,” Rugasira stated.

He noted that suicide is a global problem L.I.V.E is an acronym that stands for Listen, Include, Validate and Empower people.

The event attracted over 400 people from the government, civil society and private sector. 

Faith Agumya Jemimah, a lawyer and author of To Live or Not to Live,which was published in 2023, said her father was murdered during her senior two, which impacted her a lot, as he was a huge part of her support system.

She revealed that she has battled suicidal tendencies for most of her life.

Agumya said most people believe that suicide victims are selfish people.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) was represented by Dr Jackline Karungi, a psychiatrist and staff counsellor, who moderated one of the panels.

She commended the panellist, including Babirukamu, for their courage to speak about this sensitive issue in a public setting.