Amid a mental health crisis, every single one of us in SA is responsible for our young people

Daily Maverick

17-06-2025

It is my opinion that South Africa is going through a mental health depression as a result of our state institutional failures and our runaway inequality, which is causing poverty and in turn fuels violence and inevitably crime.
In fact, the Mental State of the World in 2023 report, having surveyed 71 countries, placed South Africa among the bottom three countries along with Uzbekistan and the UK in respect of mental wellbeing.
The report went on to highlight that people under 35 had the biggest drop in wellbeing. Interestingly, some of the factors named as contributing to the decline in mental health are the introduction of smartphones at a young age, the consumption of ultra-processed foods and weakened connections with family and friends.
Youth Day, celebrated on 16 June, often makes me wonder how genuine our commitment to investing in our young people is. Can we really claim to be harnessing the human potential they represent with due care when a lack of educational reform, social stability and employment opportunities are creating a mental health crisis that has been flagged for years?
The youth of 1976, who are now in their fifties and sixties, have had to navigate post-traumatic stress disorder from the violence of the time, and also from the disillusionment of present-day South Africa.
Coming out of Child Protection Week, during which violence against children was highlighted by both statistics and stories of how this violence takes hold and is perpetuated, the urgency for intervention has never been clearer.
There have been many calls for young people to be centred more in policymaking, yet 45% of them are still not employed, nor are they in educational or training institutions.
Afrika Tikkun, a youth development civil society organisation, has found through its youth intervention programmes that prolonged unemployment is leading to rising cases of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, unplanned pregnancies and even suicidal ideation among young people.
During Mental Health Awareness Week last month, Sello Moloi, Afrika Tikkun's delivery lead for work readiness, said: 'The government can play a leading role by expanding access to mental health services at community level and by embedding mental health education into schools.
'Corporates should take bold steps to invest in youth development, not only through job creation, but also by funding holistic support services, including mental health. Internships and learnerships should include structured psychosocial support, mentorship and safe spaces for reflection and wellbeing.'
This integrated approach acknowledges that responsibility for our young people belongs to us all.
The best marker of 16 June this year and into the future can only be to earnestly take action in respect of the many solutions that have been proposed by various organisations based on existing empirical data.
The evidence is here. We come face-to-face with it daily as both disenchanted and still hopeful young people do the best they can to survive in circumstances in which even we as adults are struggling. DM