Hub to boost knowledge exchange on mental health

It highlights innovative solutions that can be adapted for use in S'pore and the region

- Joyce Teo

Zimbabwe, which has fewer than 20 psychiatrists serving a population of 15 million, started a mental health initiative with senior volunteers offering mental health help in the community. Not only did the initiative take off, but it has also been replicated in other African countries and elsewhere, including New York.

Sitting on a wooden Friendship Bench near primary healthcare clinics or safe community spaces, these community health workers, known as "grandmothers", counsel people who need help for common mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression.

They have no medical background but have been trained to provide counselling, usually over six structured 45-minute sessions.

The Friendship Bench initiative was founded in 2006 by Dr Dixon Chibanda, a Zimbabwe-based psychiatrist, after he lost a patient to suicide. She was due for a review, but her family had no money for her to travel by bus to see him.