Newsletter19-09102026

 

OCTOBER 2026

ISSUE NINETEEN

Message from the Director

The past few months have brought exciting progress at the Brain and Mind Institute, and fresh reasons for hope.

Through the Canvas for Change project, people living with neurological conditions and their families have brought their experiences into the national conversation on stigma. Their voices have helped shape Kenya’s National Partnership Roadmap, which aims to reduce the stigma surrounding epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions.

The Brain Resilience Kenya Study is also revealing more about the factors that influence brain health throughout our lives. Meanwhile, the Suicide Prevention Handbook for Religious Leaders is helping faith communities recognize signs of distress and connect people with the care and support they need.

At the heart of all these efforts is a shared purpose: to produce research that speaks to people’s everyday lives and supports better decisions about health and wellbeing. We are especially encouraged to see this work reaching communities and helping to shape policy.

All this progress is guided by our enthusiastic and tireless research teams and partnered communities. There is still much to be done. But this progress shows what is possible when research, lived experience and practical action come together.

Staff Features

Dr. Stanley Onyango is among a growing generation of African scientists shaping the future of brain health research in Kenya. With a background spanning nutrition, genomics, and neuroscience, his work reflects a keen interest in understanding the biological factors that affect human health and, importantly, translating that knowledge into solutions that can make a difference in people’s lives.

At the Brain and Mind Institute, Dr. Onyango is exploring simple, accessible biological markers that could help identify mental and brain health conditions earlier and improve care aimed at diverse communities. In this conversation, he shares the experiences that shaped his scientific path, what continues to drive his curiosity, and his hopes for the future of brain health research in Africa.

This year’s World Mental Health Day theme, “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change,” reflects an approach that is central to BMI’s work.

People living with mental health challenges bring knowledge that research alone cannot provide. Their experiences can help us understand where support falls short and what needs to change.

This is the thinking behind BMI’s Living Labs approach. Research is shaped with communities, in the places and contexts where people live. Their experiences help inform the questions we ask and the solutions we develop.

As we mark World Mental Health Day, we are reminded that listening to lived experience should go beyond consultation. It should have a meaningful place in how mental health research, services and policy are shaped.  

How does stigma shape the lives of people with epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurological conditions? In communities across Kilifi, people with lived experience and their caregivers explored this question through participatory theatre and community dialogue, sharing how stigma affects everyday life.  

Their experiences are informing Kenya’s National Partnership Roadmap to reduce stigma around neurological conditions, co-developed by the Ministry of Health, Brain and Mind Institute and Newcastle University with researchers, healthcare professionals and advocacy organizations.

The roadmap builds on Canvas for Change, a British Academy-funded project creating space for experiences of neurological conditions that are too often unheard.

Could Poverty Affect Brain Aging?  Insights from Brain Resilience Kenya

Could the conditions we live through shape how our brains age? Preliminary findings from the Brain Resilience Kenya (BRK) Study suggest that healthy brain aging may be influenced long before old age,  including by the challenges people face throughout their lives. The team shared the findings with study participants and community members at a dissemination workshop and health fair on July 10, 2026.

Led by Dr. Chi Udeh-Momoh, Dr. Karen Blackmon and Prof. Mansoor Saleh, the three-year study followed more than 400 Kenyan adults, using brain imaging, cognitive assessments and blood-based biomarkers to explore why some people maintain healthy brain function despite significant life challenges.

The findings could help shape how Kenya thinks about healthy brain aging, poverty and resilience.

Rethinking Mental Health Care in Sindh

At a “Data Saves Lives” seminar in Karachi, Sindh’s Minister for Health and Population Welfare, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, highlighted the Brain and Mind Institute’s mPareshan project as a promising model for bringing mental health into primary care across Sindh.

Led by Prof Fauziah Rabbani and the BMI team, mPareshan equips Lady Health Workers with digital screening tools to identify anxiety and depression early and connect people to care.

The recognition adds momentum to mPareshan’s potential as a low-cost, scalable approach to community mental healthcare.

Strengthening Positive Parenting Through Master Trainer Trainings

Positive parenting support is reaching more families across Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan, with BMI training 42 Master Trainers through its Art of Parenting (AoP) program.

Across a three-day training in Sujawal, Qamber Shahdadkot/Larkana and Gilgit, participants from health, education, population welfare and partner organizations developed practical skills to support positive parenting and family wellbeing. Dr Rozina Karmaliani and Zara Nizar led the trainings.

The Master Trainers will now train Field Resource Persons to deliver structured parenting sessions in their communities, extending the program through local networks and to more families.

Launch of Suicide Prevention Handbook for Religious Leaders

For many people experiencing distress, a religious leader may be the first person they turn to. Kenya is strengthening that first point of support with a new Suicide Prevention Handbook for Religious Leaders, launched on World Suicide Prevention Day.

Published by the Ministry of Health, the handbook was developed with the Brain and Mind Institute, Inter-Religious Council of Kenya, KEMRI, and other partners. It offers practical guidance on recognizing warning signs, responding safely, and connecting people to appropriate care.

It also reinforces a simple principle: faith-based support and professional care are strongest when they work together.

The Crime of Surviving: Suicide recriminalization and mental health in Pakistan
Ahsan Mashhood & Murad Khan, PLOS Mental Health (2026)

What changed?

Pakistan has restored a law that makes attempted suicide a criminal offence. A person who survives an attempt may face up to one year in prison, a fine, or both.

What could this mean?

Criminalisation can add fear, shame and uncertainty at a time when people need care. Survivors may worry about police involvement, legal consequences or stigma, potentially making them less likely to seek help or disclose what happened.

Who may be particularly vulnerable?

• Young people who are frequently affected by suicidal behaviour and self-harm.

• Women particularly those facing violence, coercion or difficult home circumstances.

• People with fewer resources who may have less access to private, confidential healthcare.

What does a mental-health response look like?

The authors call for a shift from punishment to care, including:

• Confidential and compassionate healthcare

• Psychosocial assessment and follow-up

• Limiting unnecessary police involvement

• Better access to mental-health support

• Including people with lived experience in suicide-prevention policy  

Latest Publications

Authors:

Benard Aliwa, Catherine Ajalo, Catherine Bikeri, Chi Udeh-Momoh, Cyprian Mostert, Edna Bosire, Jasmit Shah, Karen Blackmon, Kendi Muchungi, Levi Muyela, Linda Khakali, Litha Musili, Lukoye Atwoli, Mary Bitta, Moses Nyongesa, Rachel Maina, Rehema Mwema, Stanley Onyango, Zul Merali

Journals:

Alzheimer’s & Dementia, BMC Psychiatry, Communications Medicine, Delirium, International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, JMIR mHealth and uHealth, Nature Genetics, Nature Health, npj Dementia, PLOS Global Public Health, PLOS Mental Health, PLOS One

What Shapes a Healthy Brain Across a Lifetime? | Brain Resilience Kenya

Healthy Brain Aging in Africa: Can Dementia Be Prevented?

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Fredrick Ochieng Odhiambo

Study Coordinator

Moreen Githinji

Research Assistant

Valerie Ngatta

Research Assistant