‘Failing to cope’: Malawi faces surge in young people with mental ill health

A woman in the ruins of her home after Tropical Storm Ana hit Malawi in January. Poverty and a lack of jobs are fuelling the rise in young people’s mental ill health, experts say. Photograph: Eldson Chagara/Reuters

Alone, struggling to pay course fees and often hungry, Favour Umar was 18 when she tried to kill herself. She was studying at the University of Malawi against the wishes of her parents, who wanted her to marry or get a job.

“I couldn’t see any way out of my situation,” says Umar, one of an increasing number of young Malawians feeling isolated and struggling with their mental health.