**3. Current trend of depression and anxiety among the youth**

The two most prevalent mental illnesses among the youth are depression and generalized anxiety [5]. Collective estimates from a meta-analysis study revealed that during the first year of the pandemic (COVID-19), one in four youth universally experienced high levels of depression while one in five youth experienced high levels of anxiety. These estimates are evidently double compared with estimates published before the pandemic [6] and show that more than 300 million people worldwide are living with depression, and about 18 million youth worldwide above the age of 17 have been found to demonstrate symptoms of depressive disorder, and 20% of these students have made one or more suicide attempts. Globally, over 79% of suicide deaths in low and middle-income countries are among young adults aged between 15 and 29 years who suffer from major depression [7].

Research at the Medical Fayoum University, Egypt, indicated that 60.8% of students suffer from depression and found that there are few studies of mental health illnesses among South African university students; 12% of South African students experience moderate to severe symptoms of depression and 24% report suicidal ideation [3, 8]. A study of first-year students at the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University found that 38.5% of students reported at least one-lifetime disorder, the most common of which was a major depressive disorder of those with lifetime disorders, 81.2% met the diagnostic criteria for a disorder, which had started more than a year ago [9]. The University of Free State found 26.5% of moderate to extremely severe depression [10].
