Mombasa, Kenya - 4 September 2025 - Since 2021, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders(MSF) has partnered with the Department of Health in Mombasa County to provide dedicated healthservices for adolescents and young people. Newly released results from the MombasaYouth Study highlight both important progress and significant remaining gaps in the mentalhealth and well-being among young people in the county.
Adolescence and early adulthood is a critical period for physical and mental health. According tothe World Health Organization (WHO), half of all mental health conditions globally begin beforethe age of 18. In Mombasa, adolescents and young people face multiple overlappingvulnerabilities that heighten their risk of poor health outcomes.
“Mental health is so important to the overall health and well-being of adolescents and youngpeople in Mombasa and across Kenya,” said Carol Mugun, a nurse from MSF. “Young peopleespecially go through a lot of changes, and they need tailored forms of psychosocial support.”
Achievements
The Mombasa Youth Study is a longitudinal study of health and well-being among those aged 10-
24 years old in Mombasa County. New study results released at the Third Mombasa Health
Research Conference show improvements to the mental health of this population: among
adolescents and young people, positive mental well-being increased from 40% in 2023 to 52% in
2025 while indications of depression decreased from 15% to 11%.
“Given strong investments in mental health and psychosocial support for adolescents and young
people in our county, I am pleased but not surprised by these positive results,” said Celina Kithinji,
the Adolescent, Youth, and Mental Health Coordinator for the Mombasa County Department of
Health.
Since 2021, MSF and the Department of Health have partnered to expand mental health support
for adolescents and young people. These efforts include training 30 clinicians on the Mental
Health Gap Action Programme approach from the World Health Organization, providing creative
forms of mental health support via community-based outreach activities, and introducing
psychological programming at ‘youth friendly’ health services.
“We see that investment in community-level mental health services is paying off for Mombasa
County. It is great to have this study in place so that we can not only measure impact, but also
highlight opportunities for further work,” said Associate Professor Denton Callander from MSF,
the study’s Principal Investigator.
Gaps and Challenges
Despite gains, study results show significant challenges persist: 11% of adolescents and young
people in Mombasa have symptoms of moderate to severe depression, while 10% report having had recent thoughts of suicide. These risks are heightened for those facing overlapping vulnerabilities: the study finds adolescents and young people living in economic hardship are 2.9 times more likely to suffer from depression, while those without access to safe and affirming social spaces are 1.7 times more likely.
Stigma also remains a critical barrier, as highlighted in the study report: one in five adolescents
and young people still misunderstand key mental health concepts, and more than a third of
healthcare workers in Mombasa display medium-to-high levels of stigma, with no improvement
since 2023.
“Mental health is still poorly understood and highly stigmatized,” said Radoslav Antonov from
MSF. “Unless we scale up support and tackle stigma directly, we risk losing a generation to
preventable suffering.”
Next Steps
The Mombasa County Adolescent and Young People Strategy on Health launched in 2024includes a commitment to improving youth health. Continued investment and multi-sectoralapproaches will be critical to sustain recent gains and address the unmet needs highlighted bythe study.
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About Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders(MSF) in Kenya
MSF has been working in Kenya since 1987, providing emergency medical assistance and long-term care to people affected by conflict, disease outbreaks, exclusion from healthcare, and othercrises. In Dadaab’s Dagahaley refugee camp, MSF runs one of the largest health facilities in thearea, offering comprehensive healthcare for refugees and host communities, including maternaland child health, nutrition, and chronic disease management. In Mombasa, MSF works withadolescents and young people, including marginalized key populations, to improve access tosexual and reproductive health, mental health, and social support. In Homa Bay County, MSFpartners with the Ministry of Health to strengthen HIV care and support for people living with thedisease, including innovative models of community-based treatment.
