The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the mental health of many people worldwide.
In Kenya, the stress of closures, the fear of losing one's job and the resulting financial difficulties have disrupted the well-being of many individuals.
In a neighborhood of Nairobi, the capital, Alice Wanjiku is mourning the loss of her son Kimani, who was the family's breadwinner. Aged 29 and a father of two, he committed suicide in 2021.
If he had asked for help, this would not have happened. He would have received advice and changed his mind. Being alone inspired the negative action," confided Alice Wanjiku, a mother whose son committed suicide.
Like Kimani, the majority of people living in the Kibera slums lost their jobs after the arrival of the pandemic.
And while many often choose to suffer in silence in order to avoid discrimination, health workers from the Ushirika community center visit residents of the neighborhood to address this.
"The majority of our population lives in denial and we have myths and misconceptions. This is due to a lack of education and a poor understanding of the status. So people don't believe that mental health exists and then they either fall into stress or depression, that sort of thing," explained Anthony Onyango, a community health worker at the Ushirika health center.
The Ushirika Stress Free self-help group consists of 68 members who offer free advice and group therapy.
One of the objectives is to help residents cope with the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19.
"A problem half shared is a problem half solved. This means that when you open up to your counselors or any other group of people when we are together, you will find that for all the decisions you might have initially made, you will find that the right options will be presented to you by the end of the sessions. This is why we encourage most of our clients to attend group therapy. It is there that we discuss the problems and offer options. And thanks to this, we have seen a great many of them succeed," said Anthony Onyango, a community health worker at the Ushirika Health Center.
In Kenya there are only 500 mental health workers for a population of nearly 54 million.
According to a report from the Kenyan Ministry of Health, one in ten Kenyans suffers from mental disorders.
The government recently announced the creation of a new neuropsychiatric hospital and a centre of excellence that will train people to address mental health challenges.
