Restoring dignity one haircut at a time in Kenya's largest mental health hospital

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — At Kenya ’s largest mental health referral hospital, male patients encounter a different kind of therapy: a personal grooming session provided by two visiting barbers.

As their equipment is unpacked, excitement spreads. Patients eagerly take turns sitting in the barber’s chair, looking forward to a haircut.

Healthcare workers say personal grooming is an important aspect of recovery, as one sign of mental illness can be a loss of interest in personal hygiene and self-care.

Kenya has limited data on the prevalence of mental illness. According to the government’s 2015 Mental Health Policy, an estimated 25% of outpatients and 40% of inpatients in all health facilities experience mental health conditions.

Mental health experts say depression and anxiety are among the most common conditions, while substance use disorders remain a major challenge, particularly among men.

June is observed as Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month. Francis Kabugua, a nursing officer at Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital in Nairobi, is encouraging men to speak openly about their struggles instead of turning to alcohol and other substances in an attempt to cope.

“Among the things that you may see a person with depressive disorders is segregating themselves or separating themselves from the members of the family. They start also not providing for the family,” he said.

Sheila Lugaliki founded Uniquely Gifted, a community-based organization that offers the free grooming services. She said her own experience as a patient in a psychiatric ward inspired her to establish the monthly initiative.

She said she hopes the act of providing haircuts restores dignity, boosts confidence and reminds patients that they are valued as opposed to them feeling “neglected."

“You find someone has been admitted for six months and yet no one has groomed their hair. How they look really does not reflect how they are feeling,” she said.

Psychiatric nurse Titus Enko agreed, saying that personal grooming enhances patients’ self-esteem and contributes to their overall recovery and well-being.

“More often we only think about medication, psychotherapy, and we tend to overlook the other part, which is the personal grooming. Many times, someone neglects themselves and they start not taking a shower or they don’t dress well. And personal grooming is an indication that someone is either doing good or they’re not doing okay,” he said.

As the barbers trimmed patients’ beards, one man summed up the experience in a single word. He said he felt “alive."

A patient looks on during a grooming session at the largest mental health referral hospital, Mathari in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Barbers shave patients hair during a grooming session at the largest mental health referral hospital, Mathari in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

A barber shaves a patients hair during a grooming session at the largest mental health referral hospital, Mathari in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

A barber shaves a patients hair during a grooming session at the largest mental health referral hospital, Mathari in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

A barber shave a patients hair during a grooming session at the largest mental health referral hospital, Mathari in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting toward the finish line of a tough June on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged and heading toward its first losing month following two fabulous ones. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 125 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.

The main reason for this month’s rockiness has been weakness for stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry. After roaring to tremendous heights in the frenzy around AI, such stocks have come under pressure because of worries that they shot too high. That’s a big deal for all investors because AI stocks have grown into some of Wall Street’s largest and most influential, pulling indexes behind them.

AI stocks were a bit calmer on Tuesday, with Nvidia rising 1.8%.

The relatively quiet trading came as companies close their books for the quarter running from April through June. Investors will want to see strong growth in profits to justify the big gains stocks made early in the quarter. Even with June’s drop, the S&P 500 is still on track for its best quarter since six years ago, when stocks rocketed out of the crash caused by the COVID pandemic.

Concentrix tumbled 17.3% after the technology company reported profit and revenue for the latest quarter that were just shy of analysts’ expectations.

In the oil market, prices edged higher as two U.S. envoys arrived in Qatar for talks with mediators about the implementation of an initial deal to end the war in Iran. The Americans will not be having direct negotiations with Iranian diplomats while in Doha.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 0.4% to $74.24, though it’s below its peak well above $100 earlier in the war. The hope is that an end to the war will restore full access to the Strait of Hormuz, allowing oil tankers to move more crude and lower its price.

Expensive oil has already sent inflation jumping around the world, which in turn has raised worries that the Federal Reserve and other central banks may have to raise interest rates. Higher rates would keep a lid on inflation, but they would also slow economic growth and hurt prices for investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.39% from 4.38% late Monday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.

Germany’s DAX returned 1.1%, and South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1% for two of the bigger gains. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% as the value of the Japanese yen dropped near its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in 40 years.

U.S. government bonds are paying much higher yields than their Japanese counterparts, and the possibility of rate hikes by the Fed is putting more pressure on the yen. Speculation is rising that Japan’s government may try to prop up the yen’s value, but Japan’s finance minister said only that the government was ready to “respond appropriately whenever necessary.”

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

Specialist Michael Pistillo works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A man walks past a monitor showing stock prices of companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A huge screen shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

An electronic board shows Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index, bottom, and exchange rate of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar in Tokyo Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Kenichiro Kojima/Kyodo News via AP)