She woke up one morning and could not see a way forward. The 25‑year‑old from Lilongwe, who asked to remain anonymous, says years of pressure and a violent relationship pushed her to the brink.
“I spent most of my salary on him. I was the first‑born and expected to provide for my family. When I found out he was cheating, I felt worthless,” she recalls. After a suicide attempt last year, counselling helped her rebuild; she ended the relationship and began to put herself first.
Her story is far from unique. Across Malawi, clinicians and counsellors say they are seeing a surge in young people arriving at clinics with severe depression, substance‑use problems and suicidal behaviour.
Young people now make up the majority of admissions at the country’s two main referral centres.
Zomba Mental Hospital and St John of God report that roughly 70 percent of their admissions are people aged roughly 18 to 40, many of them university and college students
The crisis is concentrated among students and young adults. This is a group that should be building careers and families.
Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (Mubas) student representative council president Francis Alex said many students at higher learning institutions struggle with mental health issues.
He attributed most of their challenges to financial difficulties and poor academic performance.
Alex said student bodies have established counselling clinics to help with coping.
“When schools are in session, we encourage students to seek counselling to address psychosocial issues. The number of students seeking help is quite high,” he said.
Zomba Mental Hospital director Raphael Piringu said the situation is alarming.
He said they have 465 patients, out of which 325 are youths aged between 18 and 39, representing about 70 per cent of total admissions.
“Most are from secondary schools and universities. Others are depressed or overthink, resorting to drugs,” said Piringu
St John of God Community Services chief executive officer Charles Masulani said more young people are resorting to alcohol or drugs when faced with challenges.
He said out of 2 344 patients the facility engages, at least 1 800 are youths aged between 18 to 40 years or 76 per cent.
“Most of the patients abuse alcohol and use cocaine. Also, there is an increased use of pethidine, the injectable. Lately, we have seen an increase in the number of females using drugs unlike in the past when larger percentages were men. Among girls, it is more of an eating disorder where they use drugs to maintain a slim body,” he said.
Masulani added that the situation is even more worrying, as 10-year-olds have fallen victim to drug and substance abuse.
He further said the facility has admitted a significant number of adolescents following suicide attempts, signalling a deepening mental health crisis in the country.
“We sampled a primary school in Lilongwe and conducted tests. It’s sad to note that samples of drugs such as marijuana tested positive in children as young as 10 years. It signals the deepening problem of substance abuse which needs to be seriously looked at.
“We have also seen a rise in attention seeking behaviour where young people go missing or threaten to commit suicide to force their parents to do something for them. This is a sign of deepening mental health crisis,” added Masulani.
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences professor in psychology Chiwoza Bandawe said mental health problems among the youth stem from a number of factors which include financial challenges
He said issues previously regarded as normal can escalate to a point where individuals lose hope.
“Mental disorders commonly affect individuals aged between 12 and 24 because they are moving from adolescent to young adulthood. They are going there with a sense of despair, especially those who are unemployed or are not doing well in school. That can lead to addiction to alcohol and taking drugs.
“This is the stage at which identity is formed and self-comparison is done and if one is facing challenges, they feel like the challenges reflect the value. When young people face challenges, they may internalise them as a reflection of their self-worth and in search for relief or hope, they turn to drugs,” said Bandawe.
Secretary for Health Dan Namarika admitted that mental health is deepening among the youth suggesting a multi sector approach in finding solutions to the challenges.
He commended the faith leaders for their role in addressing mental health issues.
Namarika said the ministry has noted discrepancies in mental health responses in regions with the northern region relatively doing well than others.
“The church has brought hope to young people and the general population. As the Ministry of Health, we provide services and we want to decentralise in the supply of essential medicines,” he said.
Suicide has affected people of the same age bracket with statistics revealing that at least 2 014 people have killed themselves between 2022 and September 2025.
