How learners are lured into drug abuse

Mental health experts say many students, especially those in boarding schools, are increasingly being lured into drug abuse through veiled approaches by offering them sweets and cakes and other foodstuffs laced with drugs. 

Butabika Hospital consultant and adult psychiatrist Dr Irene Apio Wengi adds that “alcohol is rampant in all schools; these are the things biting the youth of today because alcohol abuse starts from schools.”

Marijuana, cocaine, shisha, heroin, khat (mairungi), cigarettes and alcohol are among the most abused drugs and substances by schoolchildren and students.

This revelation came to the fore during the fourth edition of the Uganda National Mental Health Conference 2025, at Hotel Africana in Kampala city on Thursday, May 29.

The revelation is in line with A 2017 study by Catherine Abbo et.al. who asked 2902 students aged between 12 to 24 years from Gulu and Kampala schools, whether they had ever used alcohol and illicit drugs, 70 per cent of them confirmed having abused alcohol and illicit drugs. And 39.1 per cent said that they regularly used substances of abuse.

 The study says in some schools around Kampala, when questioned, all students in the schools said they knew about the existence of the illicit drugs and had seen some people using them and some 20 to 30 per cent had themselves used drugs. 

Wengi also decried the limited number of psychiatrists across the country, saying there are only 55 to 60 countrywide.

She also revealed that substance and alcohol abuse rank highest in Butabika hospital, and these are contributing to crime since most people end up doing everything in their power to maintain their drug or alcohol addictions.

TPO Uganda country director Peter Okwi said many Ugandans are ignorant about mental health yet it "does not discriminate”. 

“Local leaders and media should be involved to raise awareness about this,” he added during the three-day event organised by various partners, including TPO Uganda, Uganda Counselling Association and the health ministry.

The conference attracted over 100 attendees, including professionals and representatives from the Government (Ministry of Health) as well as doctors, counsellors and public health practitioners.

The conference attracted over 100 attendees, including professionals and representatives from the Government (Ministry of Health) as well as doctors, counsellors and public health practitioners. (Courtesy Photo)

Protect employees

Prof. Etheldreda Nakimuli Mpungu, a mental health expert, said employers should protect the mental health of their employees.

“We have to address stigma. There is no shame because mental health takes us forward, since it is our brains that direct our actions,” Nakimuli told New Vision Online.

The conference, themed: Building resilient communities: The future of mental health in Uganda, was attended by Dr Hafsa Lukwata, the assistant commissioner from the health ministry’s division of mental health and Annet Nakyo, the co-ordinator for the mental health forum in Parliament, a platform for MPs who advocate for mental health in Parliament.

Lukwata stated the importance of schools setting aside a weekly hour dedicated to mental health awareness.

“We continually implement mental health in workplaces, and have been invited to do mental health training at the Ministry of gender and Social Development,” she revealed.

She said mental health is the new kid on the block and is a trending global challenge that all must embrace.

She also advised school leaders and other vulnerable groups, like men in uniform (soldiers and police and prison officers), to be given adequate time to update their mental health knowledge.

She noted that even pregnant women should be educated more to prevent mental health illnesses among them.