Ugandan scholar based in Canada hits back at President Museveni over his remarks on studying social work
Beyond Degrees: Why Uganda Needs Social Workers as Much as Scientists
When President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni questioned the value of degrees in social work and psychology during his Labour Day address on May 1, 2026, he sparked a national conversation that has rightly captured public attention. His call for education that directly contributes to economic development is valid. However, it also reveals a critical gap in how we define development itself.
I am a Ugandan-trained social worker, educated at Uganda Christian University and the University of Toronto, and I have worked within both Ugandan and Western communities. From this perspective, I have seen firsthand that development is not only built through infrastructure, science, and technology it is sustained through human well-being, stability, and social cohesion.
It is also important that this conversation is unfolding during Mental Health Awareness Week. Health, as defined by the World Health Organization, is not merely the absence of disease but a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. This means that mental health and social support systems are not secondary concerns; they are central to national progress.
So when we ask, “What can one do with a degree in social work or psychology?” The answer lies in the everyday realities of our society.
A doctor with alcohol or substance dependence will not save lives simply because he is trained he will first need treatment. An engineer struggling with unresolved trauma may not function effectively. Within families, an abusive father or a mother dealing with generational trauma cannot provide the stability children need to thrive. These are not abstract concerns. They are real conditions that shape whether individuals can participate meaningfully in the economy.
Without intervention, these challenges become cycles affecting education, productivity, and long-term national stability. Social workers and psychologists are trained to break these cycles using evidence-based approaches, including trauma-informed care and psychodynamic interventions that address root causes, not just symptoms.
Uganda’s success in responding to HIV/AIDS offers a clear example. Progress has not come from medical treatment alone, but from counselling, community engagement, stigma reduction, and adherence support. These are core areas of social work and psychology. Similarly, issues such as social isolation, homelessness, and the growing number of street-connected children require structured psychosocial interventions not just policy statements.
We must also consider the experiences of our armed forces. Exposure to trauma during training and combat can have lasting psychological effects, including post-traumatic stress. Supporting the mental health of service members is not a luxury it is essential to maintaining a strong and effective military. This support depends on the very professions often dismissed as less relevant.
Beyond direct service delivery, social work and psychology strengthen the effectiveness of other disciplines. They are critical to improving health outcomes, supporting education systems, reducing poverty, addressing gender-based violence, and promoting access to justice. In global development terms, they directly contribute to goals related to health, education, equality, and strong institutions.
Mr. President, perhaps the more important question is not whether these professions are useful, but how Uganda can better integrate them into its development agenda while easing the burden on already overstretched systems such as healthcare and the justice sector.
Strengthening social work in Uganda would require deliberate action. The profession must be properly regulated and supported through the Ministry of Education and relevant bodies, ensuring standards of training, licensing, and ethical practice. Social workers should be integrated into hospitals and clinics to provide psychosocial care alongside medical treatment. Every school should have access to a trained social worker to support students facing mental health challenges, trauma, or family instability.
At the community level, social workers can play a vital role in addressing domestic violence, youth vulnerability, and poverty-related stress. Partnerships with faith-based institutions, including churches and mosques, can expand access to counselling services for grief, bereavement, and loss. These are practical, scalable interventions that directly improve the well-being of citizens.
Importantly, these measures do not compete with scientific and technical fields. They complement them. By addressing the human and social conditions that affect performance, social workers make doctors more effective, improve educational outcomes, and strengthen institutions.
Uganda undoubtedly needs engineers, doctors, and scientists. But it also needs professionals who can ensure that its people are mentally well, socially supported, and able to contribute meaningfully to national life.
Development is not only about building roads, industries, and systems. It is also about building people, and we therefore need an interdisciplinary approach that integrates social, psychological, medical, and technical expertise to achieve sustainable national development.
Sarah Kyomugisha,
The writer is a practicing Clinical Social Worker and Psychotherapist in a health facility in Canada, and a PhD student in Clinical Counselling Psychotherapy.
