AMARI: African Mental Health Research Initiative

AMARI: African Mental Health Research Initiative

The African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI) is a mental health research capacity building grant whose overall goal is to build an Africa-led network of mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) researchers, who are equipped to lead high quality mental health research programmes that meet the needs of their countries: Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Mission statement

To establish a sustainable career pathway for researchers with emphasis on integrating mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) research into existing programmes such as HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health. Also to provide a platform for networking meetings with other researchers, training in leadership skills and mentoring, a web based support platform, and courses in research methods and grant writing. 

Summary of relevant work

The African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI) is a mental health research capacity building grant whose overall goal is to build an Africa-led network of mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) researchers, who are equipped to lead high-quality mental health research programmes that meet the needs of their countries.

AMARI is a consortium of four African countries Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe in universities; Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences (UZ CHS - prime grantee), University of Addis Ababa, College of Medicine (University of Malawi), University of Cape Town  and 3 United Kingdom academic institutions. AMARI is set to train 47 fellows consisting of 21 Masters, 20 PhD and 6 post-doctoral students over a five year period spanning 2015-2020. This was revealed at the official launch of the AMARI (African Mental Health Research Initiative) at the UZ College of Health Sciences’ Research Support Centre, on Wednesday, 4 May 2016.

The programme will establish a sustainable career pathway for these researchers with emphasis on integrating MNS research into existing programmes such as HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health. AMARI will also provide a platform for networking meetings with other researchers, training in leadership skills and mentoring, a web based support platform, and courses in research methods and grant writing. The programme is funded for 5 years; 2015-2020. 

Key partners

AMARI PIC

Funders

  • Wellcome Trust
  • Department for International Development (DFID)

Details

Approach(es)
Task sharing
Training, education and capacity building
Disorder(s)
All mental health conditions
Region(s)
Africa
Population(s)
Adults
Children and adolescents
Communicable diseases (e.g. HIV/AIDS, TB)
Disability
Families and carers
Humanitarian and conflict health
Minority populations
Non-communicable diseases (e.g. cancer, diabetes, stroke)
Older adults
Setting(s)
Community
Primary care
School
Specialist care
Workplace
Country(s)
Zimbabwe

Innovation and Resources

Innovation and Resources