17 Sept 2026
Our co‑design work in Kilifi County has been featured in two of Kenya’s major media outlets
Kenya’s work on the INSPIRE project has received national attention this summer, with two of the country’s leading media outlets — The Nation (Swahili edition) and The Standard (English edition) — publishing stories that highlight the urgent mental‑health challenges faced by pregnant adolescents and the innovative approaches emerging from the project’s co‑design work in Kilifi County.
The coverage marks an important milestone for the Kenya team, based at the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health at Aga Khan University, under the leadership of Prof Marleen Temmerman. The team’s coordination is led by Margrette Hanselmann, who has been working closely with local health workers, young mothers, and community stakeholders to adapt tools for adolescent‑friendly service delivery.
Spotlight on adolescent mental health
The English‑language article in The Standard reports rising mental‑health concerns among pregnant adolescents, driven by poverty, stigma, isolation, and limited access to support services.
These findings resonate strongly with the INSPIRE and SUMMIT team’s work in Kenya and Mozambique, where the project is supporting planning teams to integrate youth voices, strengthen referral pathways, and create safe spaces for young mothers to access care without judgement. You can read the English article here.
National recognition of collaborative work
The Swahili‑language feature in The Nation further underscores that girls who become pregnant at a young age face heightened risks of mental‑health problems during pregnancy and postpartum. The article focuses on Thriving Mamas, our programme co‑designed with adolescents, families, health workers and community leaders to strengthen coping skills, improve support networks and address barriers such as poverty, stigma and limited access to care, noting that further research is needed to scale such interventions across high‑stress, low‑resource settings.
What this means for the project
This media attention is a milestone moment for the project. It amplifies the work of the Kenya team, testifying its energy and commitment, and strengthens the visibility of adolescent mental health as a national concern.