Uganda’s mental health crisis is a major economic burden — report

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Uganda’s escalating mental health crisis is not only a public health concern but also a major economic burden, according to the 2025 State of Uganda Population Report.

The report was released by the National Planning Authority (NPA) on Thursday (February 19) at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala.

Facility-reported mental health cases increased by 71 percent between 2021 and 2024, the report shows. This is a rise from 494,326 to 843,295 cases, affecting nearly a quarter of adults and children.

Themed 'Mental Health: A Silent Emergency', the report analyses mental health as a critical yet historically under-addressed determinant of Uganda’s demographic and development outcomes.

“Uganda faces rapid population growth and a high dependency burden, necessitating sustained investment in a resilient and productive youthful workforce to achieve the Ten-Fold Growth Strategy."

NPA, which authored the report, warns that high-risk conditions such as depression, substance-use disorders, and self-harm are rising fastest among adolescents, youth, and working-age adults, directly impacting productivity and national development.

It is understood that in 2021, direct expenditure on mental health care stood at sh137.3 billion while productivity losses from absenteeism and presenteeism reached sh696.6 billion, bringing the total cost to sh833.9 billion.

'Foundational investment'

Over the past two decades, costs ballooned from sh283 billion in 2000 to sh2.96 trillion in 2023, with total economic losses projected to rise from approximately $1.1 billion in 2024 to $4.5 billion by 2040.

“The evidence clearly demonstrates that the cost of inaction far exceeds the cost of strategic investment in prevention, early identification, and integrated care,” says the report.

“Mental health must be treated as a foundational investment in Uganda’s human capital and long-term development trajectory," said NPA executive director Joseph Muvawala.

"Without urgent action, we risk undermining the very demographic dividend the country hopes to harness.”

Health system limitations compound the economic impact. With over 5,300 mental health posts unfilled, community-based care weak, and regional hospitals overstretched, delays in treatment and poor outcomes increase productivity losses and escalate costs.

The report calls for strategic investment in mental health, including expanding infrastructure, training personnel, integrating services into community systems, and prioritising prevention to reduce the mounting financial and social burden.

“Uganda’s ambition to grow the economy tenfold by 2040 depends on a healthy, skilled, productive, and emotionally resilient population," said health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng.

"Mental ill health threatens not only individuals but the nation’s economic potential.”

NPA urges policymakers, local governments, and development partners to treat mental health as a national development priority, with focused investments to avert billions in future losses.