We are 70 doctors from all over the world, studying for a Diploma in Tropical Medicine in Kampala, Uganda. We have decided to grow our finest (ahem!) moustaches for the month of 'Mo-vember.'

Here's why we have decided to spend a month looking unprofessional, uncool and really quite creepy....

Mental Illness will affect almost all of us at some point in our lives however mental health services have traditionally been neglected and underfunded across the world.

There are only 25 psychiatrists practicing in the whole of Uganda and community services are stretched to a level we can only imagine in the developed world. Those suffering mental illness are often isolated and ostracised, and are frequently subjected to traumatic 'treatments' and even exorcisms from traditional healers.

During our time in Uganda, we had the immense privilege to spend time working in Butabika Psychiatric Hospital with peer support workers. These are people who have suffered severe mental illness themselves, who are then trained to deliver much needed psychosocial support to other patients in recovery who would otherwise receive no support in the community at all.

The project behind this is called 'Brain Gain' and has been developed with the help of the Butabika-East London Partnership. Over the last 2 years they have demonstrated some phenomenal results. As this is the first example of a peer-led mental health intervention in Sub-Saharan Africa, a rigorous process of evaluation is needed.

The funding for this project runs out in April 2017. An extra £10,000 is needed to run the project for a further 6 months, which will provide a very solid evidence base as to the effectiveness of the project. The hope is that the Ministry of Health will then agree to take over and integrate the project into the Ugandan health system ensuring sustainability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d40zY0sEJLY

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