Male graduates face severe mental health challenges in Namibia

A recent conference in Windhoek highlighted how societal pressure to provide and post-graduation unemployment are driving rising anxiety and depression levels among young men.

Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) foundation director Kaitira Kandjii said this during a panel discussion on men’s mental health at the sixth Southern African Regional Students and Youth Conference on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Windhoek on Thursday.

He said observations at Nust indicate that male students in their third and fourth academic years were among those experiencing the highest levels of anxiety.

Kandjii said many young men grow up believing their primary responsibility is to provide for their families, making unemployment after graduation particularly difficult to face.