Northern Uganda’s youth carry deep scars from war and COVID-19’s 22-month school lockdown, leaving many anxious, isolated, and vulnerable. To respond, BNUU is piloting a stepped care model in 30 schools, offering a ladder of support from awareness to counselling to clinical care. Mental health clubs spark resilience and peer learning, group sessions nurture healing, and individual counselling provides tailored care. Severe cases are referred to trained health workers. With over 7,000 young people screened and 2,200 engaged in clubs, this project builds a supportive ecosystem where youth, families, teachers, and communities tackle stigma and champion mental wellbeing.
BNUU is transforming mental health care in Adilang and Lapono, reaching 2,375 people with mental illness or epilepsy and their caregivers. The project brings care closer by running monthly mental health clinics, training health workers in WHO’s mhGAP, and supporting families with home visits, follow-up care, and counselling. Beyond treatment, we integrate savings groups, loans training, “drug banks,” and human rights advocacy to reduce poverty and stigma. Through community awareness sessions, support groups, and strengthened health systems, individuals and families recover, rebuild, and thrive empowered with dignity, hope, and the ability to claim their rights within supportive communities.
People living with mental illness and epilepsy in Northern Uganda face stigma, poverty, and exclusion. BNUU supports 466 individuals and their caregivers through 24 Self-Help Groups, combining mental health support with income-generating activities. Members receive training, start-up items, and ongoing guidance to run small businesses, improve food security, and secure livelihoods. Groups also establish drug banks to ensure medication access, while community engagement reduces stigma. Monthly clinics provide treatment, counselling, and psychosocial support, enabling members to stay healthy, resilient, and empowered to rebuild their lives.
COVID-19 worsened food insecurity for families affected by mental illness and epilepsy. BNUU’s Vegetable Gardens Project supports 1,132 families to grow beans, okra, eggplants, and other crops. Families receive seeds, training, and guidance to start backyard gardens, improving nutrition, preventing medication-related health risks, and creating small income opportunities from surplus produce. The project also reduces stigma, showing communities that participants can contribute meaningfully.
BNUU strengthens access to life-saving medication by supporting the creation of community-managed drug banks in remote northern Uganda. Stabilized clients and caregivers stock essential medicines and contribute regularly, creating sustainable systems that prevent relapse. Self-Help Groups also receive seed capital for savings and loans, enabling small businesses and financial resilience. Monthly mental health clinics provide ongoing treatment and counselling, ensuring health, stability, and recovery.
BNUU, in partnership with Network for Africa and Comic Relief, delivered mental health services to 3,466 people in Agago District. The programme trained health workers, reduced stigma, provided counselling, and supported self-help groups to advocate for rights and start small businesses.
With support from the National Lottery Community Fund, BNUU combined livelihoods and mental health care for 447 participants. Self-Help Groups established savings schemes, drug banks, and small businesses, improving both economic stability and mental health recovery.
Funded by the Charles Hayward Foundation and Bloom Foundation, BNUU expanded its programme to 402 participants across 22 Self-Help Groups. Training in financial literacy, enterprise selection, and drug bank management, along with livelihood support, improved recovery, food security, and sustainable incomes.
