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-bond that requires attention with immediacy.
Players from different sectors including the church and the private sector want the governments and institutions to urgently improve funding, reduce stigma and expand community-level care to address the mental health scourge that’s taking a toll on thousands of young people.
Led by Munyiri Africa Foundation (MAF) Founder Bishop David Thagana, the stakeholders asserted that mental health has become a global concern that requires urgent attention so as to salvage victims from the bane.
They are rooting for establishment of accessible community centers and dedicated facilities such as rehabilitation centers where young people can seek psychological support.
They also want the government to make rehabilitation services affordable noting that high costs for the services has denied thousands the opportunity to get their lives back on track. Rehabilitation services normally cost around sh 40,000 per month and patients usually spend three or more months at the centers.
The stakeholders are also rooting for policy overhaul by bridging the gap between established national mental health policies and active local implementation on the ground.
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 Bachelors Degree in Industrial Chemistry after a gruelling 12 years of studying. He joined university in 2014 and was supposed to graduate in 2018 but failed to do so as he was frequently out of school due to mental health issues.
He told journalists that immediately after joining campus, he got 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 sunk into depression that saw him skip classes and examinations. All he could do is sulk alone 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 center 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 one. I am here today as a testament that this mental health plague can be overcame,” he said.
He warned fellow peers against indulging in vices that they can get addicted to and later suffer in the dungeons of mental illnesses adding that this already suffering should not hesitate but seek help. He quipped that there are many avenues and organizations that are ready to help victims get their lives back.
Bishop Thagana noted that most suicide cases that are being reported in the country are as a result of mental problems resulting from a wide range of causes including addiction, alcohol and drug abuse as well as Gender Based Violence.
He urged youths to always open up on issues bedevilling them so that they can get help.
Similar sentiments were echoed by MAF Secretary General Mary Waithera who encouraged the youth to join social support groups in their churches and communities where they can share their stories and relieve off their life baggage.
“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.
