Psychiki Ygeia Foundation Uganda (PYFU) is a nonprofit organization that creates and builds communities of mental health champions by empowering individuals in their immediate communities to fight mental illness stigma. We create an environment where people live free from mental health stigma and can freely seek mental health services.

In 2020, our Founder Mpaata Alex was part of a research study with Makerere University School of Social Sciences. This study assessed the provision of psychosocial support to people with severe mental illness in Makasa district, in central Uganda. During the study period, Alex got in touch with several patients and their caretakers and he realized that the burden was big on the families since most of them did not have access to free medication from the government facility or afford medication from other health facilities. Many patients were not brought to the facilities in time due to ignorance about mental illness by their caretakers, immediate family, and in their communities.  

Psychiki Ygeia Foundation Uganda was founded to address these issues by reaching out to communities with information about mental health well-being through training community champions to equip their communities with mental health knowledge and to create awareness about mental health, support medication adherence, and zero tolerance to mental illness stigma.