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Mental health expert Dr. Moses Mukasa Bwesige urges stakeholders to prioritize investing in systems to prevent trauma rather than spending extensively on collecting statistics.

Significant resources are allocated to gathering statistics on trauma, yet these funds could be more effectively utilized in financing trauma prevention measures, a mental health expert has suggested.

Dr. Moses Mukasa Bwesige (PhD), an experienced specialist in community-based mental health and psychosocial support and a trainer at the Institute for Community-Based Sociotherapy (ICBS), emphasized the need to prioritize investments in systems that prevent trauma rather than focusing predominantly on data collection. Dr. Bwesige also brings extensive expertise in suicide prevention and response.

“Efforts should be directed towards creating preventive systems instead of solely investing in gathering statistics on trauma,” Dr. Bwesige stated during a recent Training of Trainers’ workshop. The workshop focused on integrating Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) with Peace Building (PB) initiatives to combat Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the Great Lakes Region.

The four-day event, held at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala on January 22, 2025, was organized by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Regional Training Facility (RTF). The ICGLR-RTF is dedicated to the prevention and suppression of SGBV.

Addressing over 40 trainees, Ambassador Philip Rukikaire, representing Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated the government’s support for the RTF. He highlighted the ministry’s goodwill through its National Coordinator’s Office and the Permanent Secretary.

Ambassador Rukikaire further revealed that high levels of sexual violence and exploitation, particularly in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), are aggravated by insufficient livelihoods and inadequate aid.

“The loss and stress caused by humanitarian emergencies lead to fear and hopelessness, undermining individuals’ ability to cope,” he remarked. He noted that the breakdown of community structures, including extended family systems and informal networks, often results in social and psychological challenges.

Dr. Janviere Ndiranisha, ICGLR-RTF’s Regional Director and former Education Minister of Burundi, officiated the workshop’s opening. She commended Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a German development agency, for funding the initiative. The workshop aims to equip social workers, including Police, judicial and medical officers, and civil society representatives, with skills to address GBV.

The ICGLR, comprising 12 member states, was established under the 2006 Pact on Security, Stability, and Development for the Great Lakes Region. Its protocol on preventing and suppressing sexual violence against women and children led to the creation of the RTF.

“In line with Article 6 (9) of this Protocol, ICGLR member states agreed to establish the RTF to train and sensitize judicial officers, Police units, social workers, medical officers, and other professionals handling cases of sexual violence,” Dr. Ndiranisha explained.

The ICGLR member states include Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Zambia, Sudan, Kenya, the Republic of Congo, and Uganda.

The Institute for Community-Based Sociotherapy, a Netherlands-registered non-governmental organization, serves as a global network uniting professionals and organizations implementing community-based sociotherapy worldwide.

According to the National Institute of Health, trauma is a significant public health concern in Uganda, with road traffic injuries being the leading cause, followed by falls, assaults, and burns.

A review of trauma admissions at the Uganda National Referral Hospital from July 2012 to December 2015 revealed that road traffic accidents accounted for 67.4% of injuries, followed by assaults (12.8%) and mob justice (5.6%). The predominant age group affected was 18 to 36 years, with most cases involving male patients.

The study highlighted traumatic brain injury (84.5%) as the most common reason for admission, followed by hemodynamic instability (20.0%) and blunt chest injuries (6.1%). These findings underscore the need for more attention to trauma prevention and management, as injuries remain a neglected epidemic despite accounting for 9% of global deaths—a rate 1.7 times higher than that of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.