Today, the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) is releasing a report that highlights the importance of youth-informed research, interventions, and national mental health policies in promoting the mental health and wellbeing of young people.  

The findings of the ‘Exploration of Stressors and Protective Factors Influencing Youth Mental Health’ report cover the 13 focal countries for Being, a collaborative initiative to improve the mental wellbeing of young people (aged 10 to 24) in low- and middle-income countries that include Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Vietnam. It is being published following an analysis of specific country reports commissioned by Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) for the 13 focal countries (see the recent Mapping Youth Mental Landscapes: Local Insights report by GCC), three virtual convenings involving clinicians, researchers, and academics in mental health, along with individuals with lived experiences of mental health challenges from the focal countries—and beyond—in addition to an online survey. In 2023, the SFA Foundation joined Being’s global partners that include Fondation Botnar, Grand Challenges Canada (funded in part by the Government of Canada), United for Global Mental Health, Orygen and the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care using UK aid through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. 

“Through our support for science and innovation, the SFA Foundation strives to pave the way for evidence-based policies and interventions that will positively impact the lives of people in Africa and globally. Safeguarding the future of our youth, including their mental wellbeing, is paramount to our mission," said Dr Evelyn Gitau, Chief Scientific Officer for the SFA Foundation. 

Key findings from the report include: 

• From the 6 African countries — Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania — mood disorders including anxiety and depression in addition to substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) represent the major mental health problems among young people. A similar picture was observed in Romania.  

• In the 4 countries in Asia — India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam — conduct disorders, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder and suicide were more pronounced among youth—alongside mood disorders, PTSD and suicide.  

• In Colombia and Ecuador, the predominant mental health issues affecting youth were related to substance abuse and suicide. 

Youth is a phase of the life span that includes puberty, adolescence, and young adulthood. It marks a critical period of life when the brain is particularly vulnerable to environmental, physiological and psychological stressors that may disrupt brain architecture, culminating in the emergence of mental illness (Bitanihirwe and Woo, 2020). Current estimates suggest that approximately 75% of all mental disorders emerge before the age of 24 (Kessler et al., 2005) and mental health conditions constitute a major burden of disease on adolescents and youth globally. Protective factors such as community acceptance, faith and peer support can help promote the mental health wellbeing of young people, according to the SFA Foundation report. 
 
In addition to the inclusive engagement of diverse youth in decision-making processes and research, the report recommends the robust monitoring and evaluation of interventions to inform policy and practice. “The release of this report marks a significant step forward in efforts to empower young people and improve their mental wellbeing. By listening to their voices, understanding their challenges, and implementing targeted interventions, we can create a brighter future for the next generation.” said Dr Byron Bitanihirwe, Programme Manager for the Being initiative at the SFA Foundation.  Read the report here https://rb.gy/s4hry0 

About the Author

Dr Byron Bitanihirwe, is a Programme Manager at Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) on the Being Programme-an international mental health initiative envisioning a world where young people feel well and thrive. He also currently serves as a Visting Lecturer within the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Nairobi. Prior to joining SFA Foundation, Byron was a lecturer in Global Health within the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at the University of Manchester where he structured and led on collaborative (funded) projects with Harvard Medical School and the University of Toronto with a focus on translational psychiatry research that included: 1) Assessing the role of antenatal corticosteroids on neurodevelopmental outcomes and 2) Understanding the role of the choroid plexus in relation to the evolution of psychopathology. During this time, he also published work in the domain of trauma-informed pedagogy in higher education. He has served as Principal Consultant for Bank Lombard Odier and a Research Portfolio Analyst with MQ: Transforming Mental Health, a UK mental health research charity. His other experience includes an Internship with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse of the World Health Organization in Geneva and a Roche Postdoctoral Fellowship. Some of his ongoing work involves understanding how anomalies in metabolic programming influence psychopathology and addressing gambling-related harm among youth on the African continent. He holds a PhD in neurobiology from ETH Zürich. Some of his recent publications include: Deciphering the impact of metabolic anomalies in relation to severe mental illness, An exploration of stressors and protective factors influencing youth mental health, Transforming Higher Education: Building Trauma-Informed Communities for Healing and Intergenerational and Wellbeing.