Health
Mak Donates 90 Lifebuoys to Uganda Police Marine Unit
The Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) has donated 90 lifebuoys to the Uganda Police Force (UPF) Marine Unit, to aid the specialised unit in rescuing the drowning victims.
Assistant Inspector General of Police Edward Ochom, the UPF Director in charge of Operations hailed MakSPH for the strong partnership it has forged over time with UPF Marine Unit that bore fruits.
According to Ochom, UPF has for long been financially constrained making it difficult for the officers operate without adequate equipment. He hailed the partnership that has seen research output and now, a big boost of equipment.
He hailed the School for supporting the Marine Unit with 90 lifebuoys citing that they “will go a long way to support life when one drowns.” He was officiating at the handover ceremony of the items on Thursday October 8, 2020 at the Marine Base in Kigo, Wakiso District where he represented Inspector General of Police.
“I am privileged to be informed that this concern has not started now but the School used to offer life jackets to landing sites. Hence the love to preserve human life is well grounded in the School’s ideological mandate,” he said.
AIGP Ongom added that; “…we are really privileged that that we are being given 90 life rings. Our cardinal mandate in the Constitution is to protect life and property. And therefore, we are really concerned especially when people lose their lives on road, in water etc. We are really concerned and it is our duty to ensure that people don’t lose their lives like that.”
A recent study by the School showed that safe boating regulations are flouted, yet police was ill-equipped to ensure safety on the lake even as most drownings are preventable through policies and regulations that reduce risk exposure.
Mr. Abdullah Ali Halage, a lecturer at MakSPH said the intervention arose out of research conducted across the country around drowning, that stressed the limited resources and equipment by the law enforcers. He represented the Dean MakSPH-Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze at the donation of lifebuoys that were supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Globally, over 90% of the estimated 322,000 people who die in accidents related to drowning are in Low and Middle-Income Countries, making it the third leading cause of unintentional injury death; accounting for 7% of all injuries.
“We have conducted research and actually shared with you some of the reports that show that actually 95% of people using boats do not wear life jackets. Our reports also show that out of those who need to be rescued, very few get that support,” Mr. Halage said.
The results also show that many people drown without benefiting from any rescue attempts, because those who witness the drowning lack either rescue skills or rescue equipment.
According to Frederick Oporia, a Project Coordinator and Injury Epidemiologist at the Injury Epidemiology (Trauma, Injuries and Disability (TRIAD) unit of the School, majority people who drown lack survival swimming skills.” The TRIAD project is housed under the Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health.
The results also show drowning as a major cause of premature death in Uganda especially among young adults whose livelihoods depend on water activities. But Halage says most incidents of drowning are preventable through policies and regulations that reduce exposure to drowning risk and institutional interventions to ensure safety around water.
According to AIGP Ochom, the equipment used in such rescue missions is very expensive and that they can hardly be availed during the budgets. He observes that as police, they are mandated to protect lives irrespective of whether they have the means or not.
“We are really happy when we get institutions that also get their budgets from government and donate part of their meagre budgets that they get to another institution because I think they have seen during the research that we really need to be assisted. They are not doing it for themselves, they are doing it for the good of the nation. The Inspector General of Police is therefore highly indebted to Makerere University School of Public Health for the support they continue to give this specialised unit,” he noted.
The Marine Specialised Unit of Uganda Police Force is responsible for ensuring enforcement of law and order on water, Monitoring and Handling search and rescue.
The unit has 26 establishments/ detachments spread across the four major lakes in Uganda. A total of 17 marine establishments are on Lake Victoria, four (4) on Lake Kyoga, four (4) on Lake Albert, one (1) establishment on Lake George.
Engineer James Apora, the Uganda Police Marine Unit commandant also hailed the School for the big boost and the partnership citing that the equipment will ease their work.
“Our establishments are very few and very far apart. When you talk about emergency response, your response time becomes an issue when you are very far apart. The equipment you are using becomes an issue to take you there fast. The manpower also becomes an issue because you need very many numbers to expand,” says Eng. Apora.
“But the beauty is we have the will from police management to expand the unit. We have submitted our policing strategic plan for the next five years to establish additional 24 detaches that would make us to have at least 50 detaches spread all over the lakes. And we are also now venturing into the in-land lakes. Of recent lake Bunyonyi has become an issue and that is one of the areas we intend to open our detaches,” he hastened to add.
According to Eng. Apora, lifebuoys save about 4 persons at ago. “You can hang about four persons on it who can then be pulled to a safer area. I feel this is the greatest thing a stakeholder can do. The rest we can always talk but when you do it in practice, I think it speaks more.”
Dr. Olive Kobusingye, a Research Fellow and the Principal Investigator says despite the lack of incapacity to ensure safety on the lake, Police Officers have done tremendously well in ensuring they save lives and restore hope to Ugandans.
“We took about a year talking to a lot of people like yourselves [marine officers], we went to all Marine Police detaches and many other places and talked to people that have retrieved bodies, that have saved people from drowning, that have worked with families of those that have drowned and they all tell these stories but their stories go unacknowledged and a lot of work goes unacknowledged and I really would like to say thank you so very much indeed,” Dr. Kobusingye said at the handover ceremony.
About the Study
The report, issued on Thursday, presents findings of a two-phased study that was conducted in 60 districts of Uganda for a period of 2.5 years from a period of January 2016 to June 2018.
In the first phase of the study, records concerning 1,435 drowning cases were found in the 60 districts. Other than stating that the individual had drowned, there was very little information that could potentially guide prevention efforts.
The second phase was limited to only 14 of the 60 districts. In these 14 districts, a total of 2,066 drowning cases were identified by community health workers and confirmed through individual interviews with witnesses, family members, friends and survivors of drowning.
The report on understanding and preventing drowning in Uganda released on Thursday revealed high rates of drowning in both lakeside and non-lakeside districts.
Statistics analysed from the National Population and Housing Census Main Report of 2014, show that a total of 872 drowning deaths and 533 drowning survivors were recorded from the lakeside districts of Mayuge, Rakai, Serere, Hoima, Nakasongola, Masaka, Soroti and Rubirizi.
UBOS data also shows that a total of 402 drowning deaths and 146 drowning survivors were recorded in the reporting period for non-lakeside districts of Mbarara, Arua, Kitgum, Kabale and Mubende. In Kampala alone, the reporting period had a total of 58 drowning deaths recorded and 55 drowning survivors.
During the two-and-a-half-year study period, 1,435 drowning cases were recorded in the district police offices, marine police detachments, fire/rescue brigade detachments, and the largest mortuary in the 60 study districts.
“This is not the number of drowning cases that occurred during that time, but rather the number of drowning cases that were recorded. We learned from this study that many more cases of drowning happen that are never reported or recorded in administrative sources,” says Dr. Kobusingye.
According to the report, majority of the recorded cases were deaths (about 90%).
AIGP Ongom said the research will inform the Uganda Police Force’s top management on the causes of death on water, mitigating factors and strategies that can be put in place to minimise them.
He urged the marine unit to vigorously engage in strategies that can prevent people from drowning.
“For some of those cases that I have known, and also having a background of marine of course, we used to retrieve bodies and conduct investigations. There situations where you would really find it difficult even for the people to save themselves. I would sincerely request that we don’t end at research. We need to do a lot of preventive policing on our water bodies,” AIGP Ongom said.
Article by Makerere University School of Public Health
Based on research led by Max Bobholz and colleagues from Makerere University in Uganda, Essentia Institute of Rural Health, and the Medical College of Wisconsin in the United States.
Adolescence is meant to be a time of holistic growth and self-discovery, but for many Ugandan teenagers, this period is becoming a season of silent mental health struggles. A new study published in PLOS Global Public Health has uncovered a silent but growing crisis: nearly one in five Ugandan secondary school students in the study areas have signs of an emotional disorder. These conditions included anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and adjustment disorders often involving excessive worry, sadness, fear, or mood instability. Also, one in 20 adolescents exhibited behavioral issues ranging from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder to substance use and other risky behaviors like alcohol use.
The study, led by Max Bobholz, a PhD candidate in Public and Community Health at the Medical College of Wisconsin, surveyed a sample of 1,953 students aged 10 to 18 years enrolled in eight secondary schools in Iganga district in Eastern Uganda and Mukono district in Central Uganda. This was one of the most comprehensive efforts yet to understand the prevalence and drivers of mental health challenges among school-going Ugandan adolescents.
“We are looking at a generation facing a complex blend of stressors, namely, academic, social, and emotional,” says Bobholz. “Our findings show that certain groups are especially vulnerable, and schools need to be equipped to respond.”
This study results, published on June 12, 2025 was funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), a government agency of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, through the Makerere University Postdoctoral Fellowship to one of the investigators, Dr. Catherine Abbo. Other researchers included Julia Dickson-Gomez, Arthur Kiconco, Abdul R. Shour, Simon Kasasa, Laura D. Cassidy, and Ronald Anguzu.
According to the study, girls bear a higher emotional burden. Researchers found that female students had nearly two times higher odds of suffering from emotional disorders such as anxiety or depression than their male peers.
Dr. Catherine Abbo, an Adolescent Psychiatrist and Associate Professor at Makerere University, attributes this to both biological and socio-cultural factors. “Puberty brings hormonal shifts that can heighten emotional sensitivity,” she explains. “But just as importantly, Ugandan girls often face intense pressure to conform to gender roles while also navigating issues like body image, harassment, and future uncertainty.” The researchers are calling for gender-sensitive mental health interventions, particularly in schools, where early support could help mitigate long-term mental health issues.
Higher associations in older teens?
Age also emerged as a key associated factor, with each additional year increasing the odds of behavioral disorders by 20%. “As adolescents grow older, they are more prone to risk-taking, impulsivity, and resistance to authority,” explains Dr. Simon Kasasa, a senior lecturer and biostatistician at Makerere University School of Public Health.
“Combine that with academic pressure and identity-related stress, and it’s no surprise we’re seeing more conduct issues in late adolescence,” Dr. Ronald Anguzu, an Assistant Professor in the Institute for Health and Humanity at the Medical College of Wisconsin, added. This study raises critical questions about whether and how Ugandan secondary schools support older students as they transition toward adulthood.
The unseen influence of family mental health
The study also found that adolescents with a family history of mental illness had twice the odds of exhibiting behavioral problems compared to those without such a history.
“This speaks to the intersection of genetics and environment,” says Bobholz. “Living in a household with people affected by mental illness can mean instability, stigma, and lack of emotional support, all of which weigh heavily on a developing mind.”
The authors recommend that school mental health screening include family mental health history and advocate for greater collaboration between education and health sectors to support at-risk households.
Private schools: High marks, higher stress?
Interestingly, students in private schools had 1.4 times the odds of experiencing emotional disorders compared to those in public schools. Private schools, often seen as academic havens, may inadvertently be cultivating high-pressure environments. “There’s an assumption that better facilities mean better well-being,” says Dr. Abbo. “But intense academic competition, social isolation, and a lack of trained counselors can create emotional pressure cookers.”
Previous research in 47 secondary schools across five districts (Rakai, Kyotera, Masaka, Lwengo, and Kalungu) in southwestern Uganda found that economic and family support helped reduce absenteeism among adolescent girls in secondary schools. However, this support did not significantly improve behavior or reduce grade repetition. The region, which includes districts like Rakai and Masaka, also faces a higher burden of HIV, adding to the challenges young people experience.
Meanwhile, a review of data from 42 primary schools in Luwero District identified school-based mental health interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy and mindset-building approaches as being particularly effective. Researchers now suggest that integrating these strategies, along with efforts to reduce school violence, could go a long way in improving the mental health of Ugandan adolescents.
A-Level pressure: Academic ambition meets mental health strain
The study also found a correlation between advanced (A’level) education and increased risk of emotional disorders. “We selected one school district from each region based on population and past academic performance. As these students prepare for university or the job market, the pressure to succeed becomes enormous,” says Kasasa. “They’re facing a future full of uncertainty, with very little structured mental health support to help them cope.”
A wake-up call for Uganda’s education and health systems
The authors of this study assert the urgent need for school-based mental health programs, especially in private and A-level institutions. These programs should offer routine screening, emotional support, and training for teachers to recognize warning signs of mental health disorders.
Importantly, this study adds weight to calls for a national adolescent mental health policy, tailored to Uganda’s context, with interventions that bridge health, education, and social services.
“Our data shows that mental health challenges are not a fringe issue,” says Bobholz. “They are widespread, significant, and deeply tied to school, home, and society.”
The COVID-19 school closures between 2020 and 2022 deepened feelings of isolation and financial strain, with out-of-school adolescents reporting depression rates as high as 21.5% to 50% higher than their peers who remained in class, according to research published in February 2025. Yet Uganda invests less than 1% of its health budget in mental health, with just one psychiatrist per million people, leaving many teens to cope through cheap alcohol used by 28% of urban youth or untrained healers, as reported by the government paper The New Vision in April 2025. With only 26% of students completing lower secondary school and 35% of the population under age 24, these mental health challenges now pose a serious threat to the country’s future.
Mercy Akankunda of Proven Foundation, a Ugandan NGO supporting vulnerable groups, warns that mental health struggles are quietly eroding the well-being of the country’s youth, over 12 million strong and making up 35% of the population. “These teens are not just statistics. They are the future of Uganda, she asserts. If Uganda hopes to reap the dividends of its young population, addressing adolescent mental health must become and remain a national priority, not just for treatment, but for prevention, resilience, and hope.
Reference:
Bobholz, M., Dickson-Gomez, J., Abbo, C., Kiconco, A., Shour, A.R., Kasasa, S., Cassidy, L.D., & Anguzu, R. (2025). Correlates of behavioral and emotional disorders among school-going adolescents in Uganda. PLOS Global Public Health. Read the study here
-
Education1 week agoAdmission List to Bachelor of Education External (BED) 2025/26 -Private Sponsorship
-
General2 weeks agoUndergraduate Admission List Self Sponsorship Scheme 2025/2026
-
General7 days agoRe-advert: Admission to Undergraduate Programmes 2025/2026
-
General2 weeks agoAdmission Lists -Disability and District Quota Schemes 2025/26
-
General2 weeks agoDiploma/Degree Holders Scheme – Self Sponsorship Admission Lists 2025/26