Shamiri Institute has raised Ksh. 112 million (USD 1 million) from the Templeton World Charity Foundation to tackle the rise of mental health illnesses in Kenya and the rest of Africa.
The funding will allow the company to build strategies for executing its character based interventions to African youth and to examine the long term health objectives and results of these interventions.
Mental health remains a growing challenge in Kenya with a very high prevalence of depression amongst the youth. Research has shown that 1 out of 4 people looking for medical care in the country has a mental health condition. Depression in the country is common and many people depend on alcohol and substances to escape, which further magnifies the crisis.
While Kenya has not necessarily allocated a budget to tackle the issue, it has set up a mental health task force that is working on reforms to improve the country’s response to the challenge.
The government and private organisations are working to contain the crisis. Shamiri Institute, founded by Anzisha Prize Fellow Tom Osborn and partner Katherine Venturo-Coberly, is using social research data to respond to mental health issues amongst the youth. The company was set up in 2018 and has been working in Kenya, conceptualising and implementing strategies to mitigate the crisis amongst the youth with the core objective of creating a better future for this population group.
Global mental health crisis accounts for 45% of the burden of disease amongst the youth. And in Africa, with some of the highest youth unemployment rates and the lowest levels of healthcare quality, the crisis is much worse. Having experienced the problem of mental health himself while studying at Harvard, Osborn knew firsthand that African youth bore the brunt of the crisis: “Mental health problems prevent many young people from leading successful lives. I have experienced it. And growing up in rural Kenya where the only possible route towards success was through education, I understood that economic issues such as poverty and lack of resources can contribute to mental health issues such as depression.”
The funds received from Templeton World Charity Foundation will be used to expand Shamiri Institute’s impact across the African continent. According to the UN, almost 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25, making Africa the world’s youngest continent. And with about 6 – 8% of youth diagnosed with depression, the continent struggles with poor mental health literacy, the stigma around mental health issues, and weak healthcare systems.