The Friendship Bench project is now being scaled up to support other communities in Zimbabwe. 280 community health workers are being trained to care for people in their communities with mental health issues. These women are experienced at delivering problem-solving therapy using a locally adapted Shona Questionnaire Tool.
At ZHTS, we are proud to see this project grow from a small pilot project in Mbare, Harare to become a globally recognised model of care for managing depression.
Other African countries have taken interest in this model of care and are considering scaling it up in their countries.
Huge credit must go to Dr Dixon Chibanda, Dr Melanie Abas and the community health workers in Mbare for driving this amazing work across Zimbabwe.