Rebuilding psychiatry in Uganda

Uganda Uganda, referred to as the 'Pearl of Africa' by Winston Churchill, has an area of 236 580 km2 and a population of about 20 million. This beautiful and fertile country varies from semidesert in the north-east to the lush shores of Lake Victoria and the mist covered Rwenzori mountains on its western border. At the time of independence in 1962, Uganda was considered a prosperous and cohesive country but by 1986 it had been damaged beyond recognition due largely to the military tyranny of Idi Amin and successive governments. The country has, how ever, been steadily rebuilt by a stable regime headed by Yoweri Museveni, who took power in 1986 and was elected president in May 1996. Uganda is more economically and politically stable than it has been for many years, an elected parliament was sworn in during July 1996 and the average annual growth (gross national product per capita) has been 2.3% between 1985 and 1994. Uganda has been badly hit by AIDS and this has contributed to a reduction in life expectancy for the average Ugandan. The life expectancy for men in Uganda is 42.2 years and for women 44.3, giving the lowest life expectancy in Africa. The literacy rate before the coup of 1971 was 52% and it now stands at 48%.