- Education and community stakeholders want stronger government and institutional action on rising youth mental health challenges.
- They are calling for affordable rehabilitation, expanded community support and greater investment in mental health advocacy.
- The appeal came as graduate Moses Kinyanjui shared his long struggle with addiction and mental health challenges.
Stakeholders are agitating for concerted and deliberate efforts to address rising mental health challenges among young people in the country.
They are urging both the national and county governments, as well as institutions, to step up mental health advocacy, noting that it is a ticking time bomb that requires immediate attention.
Players from different sectors, including the church and private sector, want governments and institutions to urgently improve funding, reduce stigma and expand community-level care to address mental health challenges affecting thousands of young people.
Led by Munyiri Africa Foundation (MAF) Founder Bishop David Thagana (pictured below), the stakeholders asserted that mental health has become a global concern that requires urgent attention to help those affected.
They are rooting for the establishment of accessible community centres and dedicated facilities such as rehabilitation centres where young people can seek psychological support.
They also want the government to make rehabilitation services affordable, noting that high costs have denied thousands the opportunity to get their lives back on track. Rehabilitation services at some centres cost around Sh40,000 per month, with patients sometimes spending three or more months at the centres.
The stakeholders are also rooting for a policy overhaul by bridging the gap between established national mental health policies and active local implementation on the ground.
Graduate recounts mental health struggle
They made the sentiments during the graduation ceremony of Moses Kinyanjui, who has survived the brunt of mental health challenges for years, at the University of Nairobi.
Kinyanjui graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Chemistry after a gruelling period of studying. He was supposed to graduate earlier but failed to do so as he was frequently out of school due to mental health challenges.
He told journalists that immediately after joining campus, he became addicted to sports betting, which ate into his finances, including tuition fees and money intended for his upkeep.
With depleted resources, a dented family relationship and loss of focus on his studies, Kinyanjui sank into depression that saw him skip classes and examinations. All he could do was sulk alone at home and indulge in other vices, including alcoholism.
However, an intervention by church leaders at Glory Outreach Assembly Church (GOA) in 2022 restored a glimmer of hope in his life. He was enrolled in a rehabilitation centre where he received constant psychological counselling.
“I gambled away my finances, my education, my life and my future. I am, however, lucky to have met Rev Joyce Munyiri of GOA, who sat me down and insisted that all was not lost and that I still had a future to work on. I am here today as a testament that this mental health plague can be overcome,” he said.
He warned his peers against indulging in vices that they could become addicted to and later suffer mental health challenges, adding that those already suffering should not hesitate to seek help.
He quipped that there are many avenues and organisations ready to help those affected get their lives back on track.
Bishop Thagana noted that many suicide cases reported in the country are linked to mental health challenges arising from a wide range of factors, including addiction, alcohol and drug abuse, as well as Gender-Based Violence.
He urged youths to always open up about issues bedevilling them so that they can get help.
Similar sentiments were echoed by MAF official Mary Waithera, who encouraged the youth to join social support groups in their churches and communities where they can share their stories and relieve some of their emotional burden.
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“Mental health is real and many have succumbed to this scourge due to lack of requisite support. I encourage our young people to always speak up on issues that are affecting them so that they can get help instead of suffering in silence,” she noted.
By John Kamau
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