Pre-Conferences Open with a Focus on Youth Mental Health and Intergenerational Collaboration

2 August 2025 – Balaclava, Mauritius

As part of the pre-conference activities leading to the 15ᵗʰ Best Practices Forum (BPF) and 31ˢᵗ DJCC, the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) launched a high-level Intergenerational Policy Dialogue focused on strengthening youth mental health policies and services across the region.

The dialogue, hosted at the InterContinental Mauritius Resort, brings together youth leaders, health professionals, mental health advocates, and policy-makers from ECSA-HC member states to confront one of the region’s most underrecognized public health challenges: the burden of mental health (MH) among young people.

According to a Commonwealth youth-led survey (2023), conducted in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, the majority of youth identified mental health as a critical and unmet need. However, fewer than 10% of adolescents in low- and middle-income countries currently receive any MH support.

“We cannot talk about health system strengthening if our young people are left behind,” emphasized Dr. Ntuli A. Kapologwe, ECSA-HC Director General. “This dialogue is not just timely — it’s transformational.”

🎯 Objectives of the Dialogue

Develop a coordinated, youth-centric regional approach to mental health
Produce a landscape analysis of youth MH burden across ECSA-HC member states
Identify gaps in service provision, and map opportunities for scaling up youth-friendly MH services
Highlight policy and legislative gaps to improve access to care

📝 Expected Outcomes

A regional status report on youth mental health across 9 ECSA-HC countries
A map of service delivery gaps and scale-up opportunities
A policy and legislative reform framework to advance youth MH services and inclusion

This high-level session marks a significant step toward translating youth voices into real change through legislative reform, system strengthening, and regional coordination.

📍 Stay connected as we continue with pre-conference events leading to the main sessions from 4ᵗʰ–6ᵗʰ August 2025.

🔗 Learn more and download the programme: events.ecsahc.org