Imagine you live in a country of 16 million people, with serious socio-economic hardships that are aggravating a growing mental health crisis. Now, imagine your country only has 12 certified psychiatrists and very few psychologists. How do you plug this monumental mental health gap?

This is the difficult question Zimbabwean social entrepreneur and psychiatrist Dixon Chibanda is addressing. He found the answer by turning to grandmothers, whom he trains as Lay Health Workers to provide counseling sessions to those most in need.

Join us on October 19 to learn more about Friendship Bench and their stigma-busting, culturally affirming approach to democratizing mental health access in Zimbabwe.