Network for Africa

Network for Africa’s (N4A) work focuses on the most marginalised members of deprived communities in sub-Saharan Africa recovering from the devastating impact of conflict or genocide. Around 1 in 5 people living in areas affected by conflict suffer from some kind of mental disorder, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and schizophrenia (Lancet, 2019). Despite this, mental health provision is severely limited in post-conflict African communities due to the lack of trained professionals and small budgets for mental health services. Drawing on our extensive experience of supporting projects in post-conflict countries (16 years in Rwanda, over 13 years in northern Uganda, and over 6 years in Sierra Leone), we work with local partners to build affordable, appropriate, high quality, and sustainable community mental health programmes, followed by livelihoods support once participants are well enough, so that they can earn an income, break the cycle of poverty and avoid falling back into mental ill-health. In 2023, in total across Rwanda, Uganda and Sierra Leone, our local partners empowered 3,247 people with mental health issues/epilepsy and their carers to improve their mental health and build sustainable sources of income and reached a further 14,685 people through community awareness raising and training, to reduce stigma and discrimination so that people with, or recovering from mental illness can thrive.