Collective Culture & Mental Wellbeing: What Tanzania Can Teach Us About Mental Health

In March 2023, Sapien Labs, a DC based neuroscience nonprofit, released its 3rd annual Mental State of the World (MSW) Report, which provides insights into global mental health. The survey included 500,000 individuals across 64 countries, eight regions and eight language groupings. 

The results were surprising: Tanzania emerged as the country with the highest mental wellbeing score. Further, Sub Saharan Africa and Swahili speakers scored amongst the highest in overall mental wellbeing and saw the lowest numbers of respondents who were Distressed or Struggling.

On the contrary, the Anglo-sphere - English speaking countries - scored amongst the lowest in mental wellbeing, and the highest in numbers of respondents Distressed and Struggling. In mental wellbeing, Tanzania scored 94, The United States 67.9, and United Kingdom 46.2, the lowest score of the countries surveyed. 

As a global society, we tend to evaluate the success of a country based on measurements such as economic performance and life expectancy. We look to high performing economies for guidance; they are viewed as global role models. But, while the GDPs of Western powerhouses such as the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom dwarf that of Tanzania and Swahili speaking Sub Saharan Africa, in the MSW Report, the latter vastly outperformed these developed countries in mental wellbeing.   

The MSW Report indicates that “our wellbeing is profoundly relational in nature,” (MSW, 37). The report observed a dramatic decline in mental wellbeing with each younger generation, the most significant decline being in the dimension of social self, “the way we see ourselves and the ability to form and maintain relationships with others”(MSW, 2). The report concluded that social bonds are the biggest driver for positive and negative mental health outcomes. It found that living without close family bonds and friendships makes one ten times more likely to suffer from significant mental health issues. Overall, the report saw a worldwide disintegration of social relationships - familial and friendly – which is eroding our mental wellbeing, (MSW). 

The nature of social relationships, as measured by Sapien Labs, differs across geographies. The MSW Report found Swahili speaking Sub Saharan Africa to have some of the highest reported closeness to family members, stable and loving childhood homes and strong friendly relationships. English speaking countries, on the other hand, saw weak family bonds and a greater breakdown of family bonds with each successive generation. The dimension of social self was observed to be highest in Asian and African countries, which are traditionally collectivist, focused on family and community. The greatest deterioration of social self was observed in Western countries, which are more individualistic, oriented  towards material gain and performance.

Mental wellbeing: it's cultural (at least, partially). African culture is rooted in collectivism: family is the primary nexus of social life. Importance is attached to respect for elders, ancestors, and the community. Indigenous African societies saw the individual as part of a mutually supportive community. Traditional African economies were cooperative, resources were pooled for mutual prosperity. The African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” reflects traditional African social fabric: communities looked out for each others’ children and shared resources and wisdom. 

African collectivism stands in contrast with Western individualism, which places a higher value on material wealth and individual accomplishments. Individualism can come at the expense of nurturing and loving social relationships, as demonstrated in the MSW Report, which saw a notable deterioration of family and friend relationships in Western, developed countries. 

Today, Tanzania retains its collectivist culture, arguably a primary reason why it scored first amongst 64 countries in mental wellbeing. Tanzanian culture has been shaped by the ethos of founding father “Mwalimu” Julius Nyerere, an African Socialist thinker best known for his politics of Ujamaa, directly translating to “familyhood.” Ujamaa was a vision of socialist development rooted in [African] traditional forms of extended family and collective property.”  

Tanzania is modernizing, which is critical for its economic growth. In July 2020, the World Bank graduated Tanzania from low to lower-middle income status. Under the 15 year leadership of former president His Excellency John Magafuli, Tanzania turned away from external investment, but under the leadership of Her Excellency President Samia Hassan, Tanzania has made significant efforts to open up to external investment and international partnerships. Between 2020 and 2022, 575 new investment projects were registered totaling to an amount of almost 9 billion USD. In the past two years, Tanzania has recorded a 24% increase in FDI, accredited, in part, to H.E. Samia’s promotion of trade and investment abroad. 

But, in the pursuit of economic growth, Tanzania faces increasing contact with Western culture. As Western culture spreads, so does individualism. Founding Father Mwalimu Nyerere was concerned about Africa’s contact with Western culture. He is quoted, “Having come into contact with a civilization which has over-emphasized the freedom of the individual, we are in fact faced with one of the big problems of Africa in the modern world… how to get the benefits of European society - benefits that have been brought about by an organization based upon the individual - and yet retain African's own structure of society in which the individual is a member of a kind of fellowship.” 

H.E. Mwalimu Nyerere posed an important dilemma for African countries: how can we embrace the vast benefits of Western influence and investment, while still maintaining our collectivist roots? The Mental State of the World Report reminds us that interpersonal relationships are fundamental to mental wellbeing. The MSW report argues that Globalization is spreading at an ever increasing pace, and is contributing to a growing social disintegration. Let us look to Tanzania, Swahili Speaking Sub Saharan Africa and other collectivist cultures as models of positive social cohesion, which contribute to mental wellbeing.

Community is critical, and I believe the challenges and opportunities of today require, and will be best served, by collective solutions.