Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

19 March 2026

1-minute read

While one in five children in South Africa suffer from mental health conditions, shocking statistics show that only one in ten have access to mental health care.

The growing crisis of mental health conditions among children, with only 10% having access to mental health care, is both a failure of the healthcare system and a violation of human rights.

Statistically, almost 15% of mental health conditions begin at age 14 and some at an even earlier age. Dr Stacey Oche from the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) says that early intervention ensures that children are able to realise their full potential and that their quality of life is not infringed. It also allows for mental distresses in teens to be addressed before they emerge as permanent disorders that can persist into adulthood.

SASOP states that the system is failing children by not providing adequate healthcare with chronic underfunding leading to under-resourcing in community-based settings. This limits the implementation of community-based care as set out in the National Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan.

Dr Oche emphasizes that specialist psychiatric child and adolescents care is very much restricted to the bigger metropolitans like Cape Town and Johannesburg, with only about 40 specialists across South Africa. “The shift in thinking to a community-based model” is vital, she says. Starting at grassroots level like school settings would ensure early intervention and screening through teacher-training and extended school healthcare services without overburdening the system.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and Dr Stacey Oche here.