Another Publication Alert!

We’re pleased to share another recent article ‘A systematic review and meta-analysis of factors associated with adolescent substance use in Africa, 2000 to 2020’ published in the journal Addiction!

This publication is the culmination of collaborative teamwork led by Dr Jumbe, involving academic colleagues from Malawi, South Africa and the United Kingdom who spent five years to identify, collate and analyse existing evidence across Africa on factors that increase risk of adolescent substance use. Read the full article here.

Listen to the Journal’s podcast where Dr Sandra Jumbe and Dr Chris Newby share more insights about the motivations for doing this work and the data analysis process. We hope this work will inform evidence based interventions, practice and policy.

MARCH 2025

Celebrating Dr Jumbe’s 2025 Women in Global Health Award

On 5th March 2025 at the Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) 2025 in Kigali, Dr Jumbe was given the Women in Global Health Award for her exceptional contributions to advancing health, equity, and sustainable development in Africa, making her a recognised leader and changemaker in the mental health field. In looking towards International Women’s Day on 8th March, conference attendees took a moment during AHAIC 2025 to celebrate Dr Jumbe’s unwavering commitment to a healthier, more inclusive future for all in her country and the African continent.

Unfortunately, Dr Jumbe was unable to physically attend the award ceremony in Rwanda, but you can watch her acceptance speech on our Instagram page

Listening to Youth Voices: MHLeC Focus Group Discussions

This month, we also took time to pause and reflect by going straight to the source; the students who have received the MHLeC.

We conducted three online focus group discussions (FGDs) with students from St. John Paul II Catholic College and Blantyre Teachers Training College, two schools where MHLeC was recently implemented. Two of the FGDs focused specifically on participants from St. John Paul who had attended our MHLeC sessions, while the other was with participants from Blantyre Teachers Training College. The goal was to gather honest feedback on:

How the course was communicated
The delivery and content of the sessions
What they enjoyed, what could be better
Whether they'd recommend MHLeC to their peers
General recommendations of MHLeC

The FGDs were expertly facilitated by Beatrice Chitalah via Zoom. Thank you, Beatrice, for your thoughtful leadership! The feedback we received was rich, insightful, and incredibly useful. It’s already helping us refine our approach and better understand the impact MHLeC is having on young people’s mental health literacy and wellbeing.

“I didn’t know mental health could be talked about like this. Now I understand what I’ve been feeling and I know how to help a friend too.”

— Student, St. John Paul II Catholic College

To the students who shared their voices with us: thank you for helping shape the future of youth mental health in Malawi.

New Publication Alert!

We’re pleased to share that our latest article ‘Contextualizing Global Mental Health Literacy Models for Youth in Malawi: Reflections from the MHLeC Project’ has been published in the International Journal of Mental Health Systems!

This paper reports on our work with diverse stakeholders to culturally adapt a mental health literacy course for implementation in Malawi universities. We highlight our learnings, challenges, and insights from implementing the MHLeC project. It’s a meaningful contribution to the growing dialogue on youth mental health in low- and middle-income countries, and we’re honoured to be part of it. Thank you to our collaborators, youth participants, and the wider community who continue to inspire and inform this work. Read the full article here.

Starting 2025 with Purpose!

JANUARY 2025

January came in with a bang and we hit the ground running with post-intervention data collection for the MHLeC project. With the help of our amazing volunteers (thank you, always!), we gathered feedback from students at Blantyre Teacher’s Training College and St. John Paul II Catholic College, two of the schools where MHLeC was implemented in 2024.

We are yet to gather data from the other two schools, Malawi School of Government and Soche Technical College. Our pre and post evaluation data collection tools, the Mental Health Literacy questionnaires, are designed to assess the knowledge of mental health of each participant before and after attending the MHLeC sessions.

This data is essential in helping us measure the students’ knowledge and awareness of mental health. Positive results will in turn inform a more established mental health literacy curriculum in Malawi’s higher education institutions and encourage more awareness raising interventions to more youth in the communities.

To every student who took the time to share their experience and every volunteer who made this possible — thank you for being part of the journey toward a more mentally healthy Malawi.

DECEMBER 2024

Student Volunteer Feedback Session

After the excitement of November’s Youth Mental Health Festival, we held a feedback session with our amazing student volunteers at Millennium University.

The session created space for students to share experiences, insights, and suggestions. Dr. Sandra Jumbe facilitated the session, covering event logistics and future planning.

Feedback collected using stickers and QR code-based forms.

Dr. Jumbe and volunteers posing with musician Piksy.

Their feedback is helping us improve future events. Thank you to every volunteer for their commitment to youth mental health!

Youth Mental Health Festival 2024 – A Celebration of Mind & Body!

Held on 9–10 November at Blantyre Youth Centre, hosted by Nicole Kamwendo under the theme “Healthy Mind, Healthy Body”.

DAY 1

Day 1 featured football/netball tournaments with guests like Patrick Mabedi and Towera Vinkhumbo. Workshops and panels engaged youth in mental health conversations.

DAY 2

Day 2 was filled with music, dance, and talks on mental health and creative careers. The finale performance by Piksy was unforgettable!

We’re so proud of everyone who came, participated, and shared.

Good news — We're PUBLISHED!

We’re thrilled to share that our latest article has been published in the ReFrame 2024 Journal by Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI).

Titled “Assessing the Effectiveness of the Mental Health Equity Global Agenda for Low- and Middle-Income Countries”, the piece reflects on our experiences from the MHLeC Project.

The article emphasizes the importance of culturally adapted, community-driven interventions. Read the full article here.

SEPTEMBER 2024

Two Schools. One Powerful Conversation.

This September, we launched MHLeC at Soche Technical College and Malawi School of Government. We’ll be at these two institutions until the end of October.

STC’s artisan students brought enthusiasm and energy, while MSG’s law students held deep and reflective discussions. Together, they showed us that mental health matters to everyone.

AUGUST 2024

MHLeC Goes to St. John Paul II Catholic College!

August brought another milestone as MHLeC reached St. John Paul II Catholic College. Students from diverse fields showed enthusiasm and curiosity from day one.

With high participation, especially from female students, the workshops were filled with thoughtful questions, role plays, and collaborative learning. Thank you for welcoming us so warmly!

JULY 2024

Our first MHLeC implementation at Blantyre Teacher’s Training College wrapped up in July. It was a powerful three-month journey from May to July 2024.

Students attended six impactful sessions, including a powerful closing workshop on Suicide led by volunteer Miracle Masala.

This is only the beginning. We’re excited to build a movement of mental health–literate young people across Malawi!

JUNE 2024

Dr. Sandra Jumbe attended the 2nd ARISE Scientific Conference in Hammamet, Tunisia, where she presented the MHLeC project’s progress to global delegates.

The MHLeC project is the only ARISE-funded mental health initiative in Malawi, among 47 across Africa.

Learn more about the ARISE program

LEEDS

Dr. Jumbe and Mrs. Gloria Chirwa attended the WUN Symposium in Leeds, UK.

They were among a select group of researchers from 14 countries. Gloria was one of 4 highlighted speakers.

APRIL 2024

On 3rd April, the MHLeC team conducted their 3rd stakeholder workshop in Lilongwe hosted by Dr. Ndumanene Silungwe and his team at St. John of God Hospital.

MARCH 2024

On 13th March, Drs. Jumbe and Malila led their first stakeholder workshop in Malawi, exploring telemental health solutions with practitioners and advocates.

Learn more about the project