Africa Institute of Mental & Brain Health

02/04/2026

Loneliness among Kenyan teens is not rare. It is the norm.

📊 A new study of over 2,600 high school students published on Global Mental Health on 31/03/2026 shows:

* 67% felt lonely in the past year
* 1 in 6 experience severe loneliness
* Urban students in Nairobi & Kiambu are most affected
* Teens with no close friends are nearly 5x more likely to feel lonely

💡 Key drivers:
* Poverty and perceived economic hardship
* Family instability
* Weak social connections

🚨 Even more telling:
Students seeking help are often the most lonely, pointing to deeper unmet needs.

👉 Loneliness is not just a feeling.
It is a public health risk linked to depression, substance use, and su***de.

What needs to change?

1.Strengthen peer support systems in schools
2.Integrate mental health into education
3.Target urban and low-income communities .

Read the article here :https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/D1214CAEF16E8EC96EF841FFBE18783E/S2054425126101538a.pdf/div-class-title-patterns-of-loneliness-among-high-school-students-a-socio-demographic-analysis-in-kenya-div.pdf

25/03/2026

Pictorial reflections from the concluded 4th Annual HOPE Scientific Conference 2026 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia😀

Team Kenya 🥳

23/03/2026

What if understanding dementia was the first step to truly supporting those living with it ? And what if that understanding came not from hospitals, but from trusted voices in your community like community health promoters. Would that make a difference ?

Share your thoughts 🙂

17/03/2026

For two days (16–17 March 2026) AFRIMEB has had an opportunity to host Prof. Angus MacDonald III, Distinguished McKnight University Professor from the University of Minnesota, during his visit to Nairobi.

Prof. MacDonald is a leading researcher in psychosis and schizophrenia, with a strong focus on cognitive control, executive dysfunction, and innovative approaches such as neuromodulation and cognitive remediation in mental health care.

During his visit, he engaged the AFRIMEB team in focused sessions exploring emerging research questions, methodological approaches, and the realities of conducting mental health research across different contexts. His insights, drawn from both his academic work and his experience as former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, offered a valuable perspective on publishing, global collaboration, and strengthening research impact.

This exchange is part of his broader research residency across Africa, aimed at understanding how psychologists, neuroscientists, and psychiatrists are shaping mental health research on the continent.

13/03/2026

The HOPE country teams from Ghana, Kenya, and Ethiopia completed a three-day (10–12 March, 2026) Annual Scientific Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where they reflected on the progress of the project and the lessons learned so far. A team of eight from AFRIMEB participated in the meeting, contributing to the discussions and shared learning.

The workshop focused particularly on challenges encountered during the formative phase of the study, including the ethnography and cross-sectional research, and how the teams navigated those challenges.

As the project moves into the intervention phase, the Principal Investigator encouraged teams to view themselves as implementation researchers, emphasizing the importance of translating research into practical, scalable interventions.

Policy makers present at the conference highlighted policy gaps in each country and discussed opportunities to align the HOPE project with existing policy frameworks.

09/03/2026

Our sincere condolences to the families who have lost loved ones or have had their property destroyed during the ongoing heavy rains.

Extreme weather events do not only destroy homes and livelihoods. Scientific evidence shows they can also affect mental health. Floods, storms, and prolonged rainfall are associated with increased risks of anxiety, depression, and trauma related stress, especially among communities directly affected by loss, displacement, or uncertainty.

Find informative materials here : https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12403442/https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7699288/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378150101_The_perceived_impact_of_climate_change_on_mental_health_and_suicidality_in_Kenyan_high_school_students

06/03/2026

Who is killing women in Kenya? Intimate partners. Find that information here: https://africauncensored.online/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image9.png

I know how alarming this sounds but sadly this is the troubling reality that highlights the pervasive nature of intimate partner violence (IPV) in our country over the last decade.

Today (March 6, 2026), community members have gathered to review a tool delivered through a phone application developed by AFRIMEB and its partners. This app is designed to assist women in infomal settlements ie Mathare and Kibra who are facing or are at risk of intimate partner violence. It helps users understand IPV and relationship safety, recognize the warning signs of violence, manage stress and emotional distress, create safety plans, and set safety goals.

While this app will not solve all forms of intimate partner violence, it represents AFRIMEB’s contribution toward addressing the problem.

06/03/2026

04/03/2026

Africa Institute of Mental and Brain Health continues to lead the way in shaping Kenya’s dementia conversation.

Through rigorous local research, AFRIMEB has mapped the country’s dementia landscape, documented the daily realities families face, exposed critical policy gaps, and consistently pushed for structured, long term support systems for caregivers and persons living with dementia.

It is encouraging to see a media articlehttps://www.talkafrica.co.ke/the-work-ai-cant-replace-inside-kenyas-gendered-dementia-care-burden/ which captured the dementia landscape in the country accurately and referenced the work we have done such as this report https://stride-dementia.org/kenya-situation-report/

25/02/2026

🧠 One in Five Young People in Nairobi Has Thought About Su***de

A major new study of 1,972 youth aged 14–25 in Nairobi Metropolitan reveals alarming findings about suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

🔎 Key Findings

19.9% of young people reported having had suicidal thoughts in their lifetime

3.6% reported a recent su***de attempt

5.5% had attempted su***de at some point in their lives

Many said their thoughts were driven by a desire to end emotional pain, not to seek attention

💔 What’s Driving It?

Young people linked suicidal thoughts to:

Depression (43%)

Financial hardship (24%)

Family conflict or violence (17%)

Loneliness and discrimination (13%)

More than half said feeling isolated or alone triggered their thoughts.

⚠️ Who Is Most at Risk?

Being female

Being previously married

Lower income levels

Lower levels of education

Younger age groups for some behaviors

🛑 Protective Factors Matter

Many youth said they were stopped from acting on suicidal thoughts because of:

1.Responsibility toward family

2.Supportive relationships

3.School or work engagement

4.Religious or moral beliefs

🚨 Why This Matters

The study shows su***de risk among Nairobi youth is shaped by both mental health conditions and social realities like poverty, unemployment and relationship stress.

Researchers are calling for integrated prevention efforts that address:

1.Early mental health screening

2.School and community-based support

3.Economic and social stressors

Read more here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/400531294_Toward_integrating_clinical_and_non-clinical_associates_of_suicidality_to_inform_potential_intervention_points_among_youth_in_Nairobi_metropolitan_Kenya

23/02/2026

This is one of the weekly research meetings, held on 19 February 2026, during which Professor Ndetei guided the AFRIMEB team through the art and discipline of critiquing scientific publications.

18/02/2026

📰✨ AFRIMEB Featured in the Daily! ✨📰

AFRIMEB has been featured in the People Daily newspaper. The powerful article follows the story of Wambui* (Name hidden to protect her identity) 19, who has spent over a decade on the streets after fleeing abuse: a journey marked by trauma, stigma and repeated su***de attempts. Her story reflects the harsh realities many street-connected youth face every day.

As Professor David Ndetei, Founding Director of AFRIMEB, explains in the feature:
“The homeless population are victims of various circumstances such as lack of a nurturing environment, family support, nutrition and education."

The article also explores how violence, untreated trauma, stigma and limited access to care are driving depression and other mental health conditions among homeless youth, many of whom avoid hospitals due to fear and discrimination.

Through the HOPE Project AFRIMEB is actively working to improve outcomes for homeless individuals living with severe mental illness by supporting access to identity documents, health services and family reintegration. 🤝

Yet another project SHADE-K aims to tackle self-stigma among homeless adolescents living with mental illness in Kenya, a group that faces high levels of discrimination and barriers to care. It will adapt and test the Honest, Open, Proud (HOP) intervention to help young people make informed decisions about disclosing their mental health status while building self-esteem.