Kenia has a population of about 46 million inhabitants, with an average age of 19 years and a 43.4% living below the poverty line. Despite the law, which recently ordered the delivery of services for mental health at community level, the reality is very different: with less than 100 psychiatrists in the whole country (source WHO). The only public services are supplied by the largest psychiatric hospital of Mathare in Nairobi and by other three smaller psychiatric institutes, located in different regions of the country. In the facts, however, only people who work and, consequently have health insurance that covers the cost, can access these services.
Stigma against people with mental illness is still very high, as well as their social isolation. Problems that are aggravated in a world of disaggregation like the one of Kibera (Nairobi), one of the most populous and poor slum in all the Sub-Saharan Africa.