Africa Institute of Mental & Brain Health

11/02/2026

09/02/2026

🤝

Safe digital spaces are essential for mental health and well-being.

We can help make them safer:
💬 Share and post with empathy and respect
🙅‍♀️ Say no to all forms of abuse and bullying

04/02/2026

New paper alert.🌍

This latest paper where Africa Institute of Mental & Brain Health was part of the study team found worrying levels of suicidality among young women (18–24) living in Kampala’s slums: almost half reported suicidal thoughts and about 1 in 6 reported a lifetime su***de attempt. Key factors linked to higher risk were depression and intimate-partner violence, while having a steady partner showed some protective effect. The authors urge better access to mental-health services, stronger social supports, and programmes that boost education and livelihoods to help prevent harm.

Read it here:

The purpose of this study was to use the Columbia Su***de Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) to assess the prevalence and patterns of suicidality among young women living in poverty to guide effective, targeted interventions for vulnerable populations. Data were drawn from ‘The Onward Project On Wellb...

02/02/2026

Last week, the HOPE data analysis and writing workshop was all about turning numbers into actionable insights.

Here are a few light moments

1. Say what? 😅
2. Let me just confirm something for a minute😅
3. As you can see we are smiling, please join us 😄
5. I don't think I am young anymore😃
6. Hmmm quite interesting
7. Surely, why did the chicken cross the road

Diana Achola Passy Kavesa Christine Musyimi

30/01/2026

We are united to give hope to those who are homeless and have severe mental illness.

29/01/2026

Three countries🇬🇭🇰🇪🇪🇹, one week, one goal to make sense of data.

28/01/2026

HOPE cross country teams from Ethiopia, Ghana, and Kenya are convening in Naivasha for a week-long (starting 26th-31st) intensive data analysis writing workshop focused on findings from the project's cross sectional survey.

(P.S 🕵️‍♂️A cross sectional survey refers to data collected from a population at a specific point in time.)

The cross-sectional survey complements the ethnographic work, interviews, and focus group discussions across the three countries which will help develop effective interventions that respond to the prioritised needs of people who are homeless and have severe mental illness.

These sessions have provided an opportunity for collective reflection, rigorous analysis, and interpretation of emerging data to strengthen collaboration across disciplines and grounding our next steps in both data and context.

23/01/2026

Have you read our latest publication?😃 Friday is a good day to do so😅. Find the link here https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-international/article/role-of-resilience-in-the-relationship-between-adverse-childhood-experiences-and-psychosis-and-bipolar-symptoms/1982B5377EEF761F0529CD3A0EE5A91E

Why does resilience matter for youth mental health 🧠 This latest paper from AFRIMEB provides that answer:

A large study of nearly 2,000 young people (aged 14–25) in Nairobi and Kiambu counties shows a strong link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and psychosis and bipolar symptoms later in life.

Key takeaways:
* Emotional and physical abuse are the strongest predictors of psychosis and bipolar symptoms among Kenyan youth.
* Emotional neglect is widespread and has complex effects, especially on bipolar symptoms.
* Resilience plays a protective role: it can reduce (mediate or moderate) the impact of sexual abuse on psychosis and bipolar symptoms.
* Not all adversity is equal and not all protection works the same way. Resilience helps most in specific contexts, particularly sexual abuse and emotional neglect.

Why this matters:
Strengthening resilience through supportive families, schools, communities, and youth-focused mental health programmes can help buffer the long-term mental health effects of childhood adversity.

📌 The evidence is clear: preventing childhood adversity is crucial, but building resilience is a powerful, practical intervention we can act on now.

This paper was published by BJP International which is affiliated to British journal of Psychiatry and it is no.452 on Prof. Ndetei's CV and the first published paper of 2026. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-international/article/role-of-resilience-in-the-relationship-between-adverse-childhood-experiences-and-psychosis-and-bipolar-symptoms/1982B5377EEF761F0529CD3A0EE5A91E

20/01/2026

Feeling lonely or isolated? You’re .

This week, try one of these:
💙 Call a loved one
💙 Ditch the phone and connect with the person in front of you
💙 Say hello to a neighbour
💙Join a group activity

And if it felt good—try again next week!
Need more support? It's okay to reach out for professional help.

14/01/2026

Behind every mental health manual is a process of listening, unlearning, and refining what works for people on the ground. The HOPE Project convened mental health professionals for a hands-refinement session focused on the HOPE intervention manual. Over the course of the session, participants reviewed, questioned, and strengthened the tool to ensure it is practical, culturally responsive, and grounded in real-world experience.

13/01/2026

There’s a familiar saying in Kenya: “We have good policies, but they rarely translate into reality on the ground.” 🙆‍♀️

But have you ever stopped to ask what it actually takes to create those “good policies”?

We are not developing a policy yet, however we hope that HOPE project will produce that.

Policy making sometimes looks like this: stakeholders coming together over days, months, and sometimes years debating, negotiating, agreeing, disagreeing, and occasionally compromising in order to move forward. Policy-making is slow, complex, and deeply collaborative work.

On this day (13 January 2026), the HOPE Project convened a stakeholders’ meeting with community representatives to refine the HOPE Kenya community intervention manual. This manual will guide community based stakeholders to improve the outcomes for people experiencing homelessness and living with severe mental illness.