HHC aims to empower our communities through education, training, advocacy and disability inclusion. We work to increase access to effective treatments for common medical conditions including mental, neurological and substance use disorders. To improve community health screening, preventive care and wellbeing using mobile technology. To make Nigeria a place where people are conscious of their emotional wellbeing, mental health conditions and enjoy productiveness whilst deploying our expertise to ensure timely and appropriate sensitization, training, counseling, psychosocial support, intervention in the community.

Summary of relevant work: 

The HAPPINESS Project (Health Action for Psychiatric Problems In Nigeria including Epilepsy and Substances), a pioneering program based in Imo State, Nigeria was initiated in spring 2018. The project:

  1. Trains and retrains clinicians (Community Health Extension Workers, General and Psychiatric Nurses and General Medical Doctors) from primary health care centers to create awareness on mental health, screen for mental, neurological and substance use disorders, provide evidence-based treatments and make appropriate specialist referrals using the World Health Organization's mental health gap action programme (mhGAP-IG 2.0) tools;
  2. Uses mobile technology to provide voice, text and video-based continuing education for trainees, as well as provide physician support, supervision and referral platform;
  3. Utilizes a drug revolving fund (DRF) to provide basic psychotropic and anti-epileptic medications in an affordable and sustained way. In the past 2 years, the project has trained, retrained and continues to provide clinical support and continuing medical education to 37 primary health care clinicians in 13 health centers across five local government areas in Imo State.
Address: 
Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu, Imo State
Email: 
info@hhc-foundation.org
Telephone: 
+234-70633-00944
Key partners: 
Funders: 
Seeking collaboration with: 
Other organizations
Researchers
Country: 
Nigeria

Innovations and resources

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The HAPPINESS Project

Training non-specialist health workers through the mhGAP Intervention Guide 2.0 and using tele-medicine to connect them to specialists.
Region: 
Africa
Population: 
Adults
Disorder: 
Epilepsy/seizures
Psychosis/bipolar disorder
Depression/anxiety/stress-related disorders
Alcohol/drug use disorders
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