Three exciting launch events lined up for MHIN Africa

These are exciting times for MHIN Africa as the official launch in November is drawing closer and closer...

The idea for MHIN Africa has been in the works for a long time, and recently took off on 1 June 2016. Since then, we have been involved in several activities highlighting mental health in Africa, for example:

• Our first public announcement at the Sierra Leone launch of the ODI Report "Mental Health Funding and the SDGs: What now & who pays?"

• Collaboration with the SHM Foundation’s Project Khuluma for #PositiveYouth at the 2016 International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) to produce a high-impact communications strategy.

We’re now very pleased to announce the launch of MHIN Africa with a series of activities in South Africa and online. Keep reading to learn how you can join in on the excitement!

Sign up to participate in our virtual launch

On 7 November 2016 at 12 midday (CAT) MHIN Africa will launch with a webinar on the topic: "African mental health care stakeholders are more powerful together”. Leading the discussion will be three very special guests from the MHIN Africa community:

• Dixon Chibanda, Principal Investigator of the Friendship Bench in Zimbabwe and Director of the new multi-country capacity-building project AMARI: African Mental Health Research Initiative.
• Crick Lund, CEO of PRIME, Principal Investigator of AFFIRM and Director of the Alan J Flisher Center for Public Mental Health in South Africa.
• Julian Eaton, MHIN's newest Senior Adviser and Global Mental Health Adviser at CBM formerly based in Nigeria and Togo.

To make sure you get your personal invite, please register your email address at: MHIN Africa newsletter signup. You and other members will be invited to listen to the webinar, interact with the speakers and ask your questions live. Further details will be announced in MHIN's webinar section.

Get involved in the WPA International Congress

MHIN Africa will showcase its work and what it has to offer the African mental health community at the 2016 World Psychiatric Association (WPA) International Congress, held this year in Cape Town on 18-22 November. We will be hosting an exhibition stall at the Congress where guests can sign up to join the MHIN Africa network. For more information on how you or your organization can get involved at the Congress, please visit: MHIN Africa call for Africans in Africa attending WPA International Congress. And don't forget to follow our live tweets on the day @MHIN_Africa @MHInnovation.

Hear our first announcement

Professor Oye Gurje will deliver MHIN Africa's first formal announcement post-launch as part of this year's Annual Alan J Flisher Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, 22 November 2016 at the Falkenburg Hospital, Cape Town. This will be a great opportunity to network and meet the brains behind MHIN Africa. Join the network and share with us what work you are doing for your community so that we can help you showcase it on the site. 

For more details on this event, please send an email to asanda.mcoyana@uct.ac.za or register your email address here for updates on MHIN Africa.

Spread the word, MHIN Africa is here!

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Acknowledgement: MHIN Africa is the first regional hub of MHIN and it is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (grant U19MH095699) through AFFIRM. MHIN Africa is based at Alan J. Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health (CPMH), University of Cape Town, South Africa.