Shamiri Institute

About our annual gala dinner—a moment to laugh, connect, and celebrate 2024. 😊 Grateful for the Shamirians who make it all worthwhile. Wishing you happy holidays filled with joy and togetherness! #shamiriinstitute

In 2024, we grew, we scaled, we thrived! 😊 This year was about scaling, building partnerships, and making mental health care accessible—across borders and communities. Here’s to a year of impact.  Here’s to enabling thriving youth. 👏 👏 👏 #Shamiriinstitute #SI2024Wrapped

• What stressors affect youth today, and why must they matter? • How does research reshape practice? • Why merge stressor insights with research?     Youth mental health is a critical public health issue. Our 2024 youth mental health survey found 37% of adolescents aged 12–24 reported moderate to severe signs of depression and anxiety, and 61% indicated moderate to severe PTSD symptoms.   Aliya stressed the importance of creating safe spaces for children to foster social-inclusion and mental well-being. She spoke of the need for parents to understand their children’s stressors and take these concerns seriously. Moreover, she highlighted the significance of early childhood trauma on an individual’s life and the importance of applying evidence-based therapies like EMDR as well as holistic approaches to well-being such as encouraging movement through dance, walking, and sports.     This raises a critical question: Are we truly listening to the stressors shaping our youth—or are we too busy offering solutions they don’t need?  #ShamiriSummit2024takeaway #Sciencetrack #Youthmentalhealth

Great to see this Nature Magazine deep dive into Shamiri Institute’s groundbreaking approach to expanding access to mental health support in Africa. The piece suggests that Community Mental Health is an important area where African organizations are driving the innovation needed for cost-effective impact at scale. 🔗 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/eWX6Pqd2 

How can we ensure mental health research speaks directly to local realities and drives meaningful policy change? Dr. Frederick Wekesa mentioned key challenges in translating research to policy include ▪️ Neglect of mental health care as a priority, ▪️ Lack of quality local data and ▪️ Lack of adaptation of foreign models of care There is a significant disconnect between research findings and their application in policy. Some researchers use foreign models and research them locally without adaptation or consideration of local context. This impacts the relevance of the research conducted to local needs. Frederick emphasized the importance of quality local and consistent data as it applies to informing local policies. He cited the prevalence of suicide in Kenya and that numbers are likely inaccurately reported due to stigma around suicide and legal ramifications. #ShamiriSummit2024takeaway #Sciencetrack

The treatment gap is as high as 90% in Kenya, while it remains around 30% – 40% in the West. To begin to bridge the gap in Kenya, collaboration across sectors is critical and necessary. — Prof. David M. Ndetei Professor Ndetei suggested involving local ministries and community leaders from the outset of research and interventions. He recommended integrating non-traditional mental health practices, such as those from traditional healers and religious communities, as part of a comprehensive approach. This collaborative and contextual approach is critical to impactful interventions and community support in policy change. Question: What role can each of us play in bridging this gap? #ShamiriSummit2024takeaway #Sciencetrack

Our final panel on Day 2 of the Shamiri Summit, "What's Next?" synthesized two days worth of dialogue on fostering hope, optimism, and resilience in our communities. The panel was led by Caleb Kiarie with representatives from the Science, Policy, and Doer tracks sharing their insights. Find out what stella WARUINGI, CHRISTINE WASANGA, and Chiara van Oekel highlighted here as the key takeaways: https://lnkd.in/dTbXnsru #ShamiriSummit2024 #TheLightWithin #WhatsNext

We are thrilled to announce that today we signed an MOU with our friends and partners at the Brain & Mind Institute at Aga Khan University. We want to transform mental health for all and we believe that this partnership will strengthen our ability to do that. Our partnership focuses on building robust local mental health research that can inform policy, implementation, and care. We look forward to furthering our shared vision of accessible, affordable, and contextual mental health care in the Global South. We look forward to working with Zul Merali, Kendi Muchungi (PhD), Cyprian Mcwayizeni Mostert, Dr. Edna N Bosire, Gloria Chemutai, Mary Waithera Ng'ang'a MPRSK and the BMI team at large. #ShamiriInstitute #BrainAndMindInstitute #AgaKhanUniversity

This time last week we were wrapping up the #ShamiriSummit2024 The Light Within. Over the course of two days thought leaders across Science, Policy, and Doers shared how we can foster hope, optimism, and resilience to ground our future amidst global challenges. Thank you to those who made it both in-person and online, we look forward to hosting you next year as we continue to tackle pressing mental health issues.

Mental health issues are an epidemic—globally, access to care is hindered by challenges of affordability and availability. We are building a model that can make care accessible to all at Shamiri Institute. Our model is based on very simple but powerful ideas: centering care at the community level, task-shifting to nonprofessionals, embracing brief, simple, “low-touch” interventions that promote broader human functioning and well-being, and building a tiered care model that allows for upward referral to expert providers when necessary. Together with our friends and partners at Friendship Bench Zimbabwe (Dixon Chibanda) and StrongMinds (Sean Mayberry), we’ve served over 500,000 people in just the last two years for as little as $7 per year, achieving outcomes comparable to traditional therapy that costs more than $3,000 per year. Africa is leading the way, offering the rest of the world a new approach to tackling the mental health crisis. It’s time for the world to take notice. Thank you, Simar Bajaj for sharing this important work. https://lnkd.in/dPkCdNnD