Join Ethel Manda for our upcoming Friendship Bench Level 1 Training. This online session will equip you with the tools to connect and support the people around you through difficult life situations. Time: 🕒 15:00–18:00 CAT Secure your spot today: fbinabox.friendshipbench.org…

Are we making a difference? Are people's quality of life improving? What can we learn to serve them better? As our founder Prof. Dixon Chibanda says, "If we can't measure what we are doing, then we really don't know if it's working." #FriendshipBenchGlobal #MentalHealthForAll

Masterclass on Friendship Bench Principles Whether you are a mental health professional, researcher, policymaker, or simply passionate about community wellbeing, this is an opportunity to gain practical insights that can be applied in your own context. 🔗 fbinabox.friendshipbench.org…

Somewhere in D.C., an older adult sits on a bench, waiting to listen. That's #FriendshipBench — founded in Zimbabwe by #AshokaFellow Dixon Chibanda, now changing lives across borders. Full story via @washingtonpost: buff.ly/i5MOzU0 #AshokaAfrica #MentalHealth

Grief can make the world feel unbearably heavy. Healing doesn't happen overnight, but sometimes having someone sit with you and truly listen can change everything. #FriendshipBench #MentalHealthForAll #Malawi

🚌You have not truly lived until you board a Zim bus. Last night, Ambassador Rey launched Zimbabwe by Bus - a book & exhibition on the stories, struggles & laughter carried daily. In Switzerland? Panic at 1 min late. In Zimbabwe? The bus carries life itself. @friendshipbench

Community‑led mental health care is gaining recognition! 💚 Congratulations to @friendshipbench, 2025–2026 @K_B_Foundation Prize laureate, for showing what accessible and effective care can look like. 👌 ow.ly/KHYH50YZcYc #KBFAfricaPrize #MentalHealth #SFFrockstars

We have leveled up! Boost is evolving into #YouthBoost ! With new funding from @ViiVHC, we’re scaling to reach 10k youth with health resources that work. Proud to collaborate with @FriendshipBench and @LVCTKe Himarika for regional impact!

Warm congratulations to @friendshipbench on receiving this year’s @FRB_KBS Africa Prize - and to 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe’s Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Douglas Mombeshora, for his support to this inspiring model. The Friendship Bench shows the power of community care. Over the past 20 years, grandmothers have supported more than 1 million people across all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe – helping break mental health taboos and bring care closer to people. Grateful to the @MonarchieBe and @FRB_KBS for recognizing a solution rooted in trust, dignity and community leadership. Queen Mathilde’s leadership as SDG Advocate and Honorary President of @FRB_KBS continues to help move mental health from the margins to the centre of global health and development. @MoHCCZim | @dr_douglas | @zimbabwe_un | @ZimGeneva

🌍 Il est décerné cette année à @friendshipbench, une organisation zimbabwéenne qui fournit une aide psychologique de proximité dans 6 pays africains (et même au-delà), contribuant ainsi à briser les tabous qui entourent les problèmes de santé mentale. 🏆

🌍 De prijs gaat dit jaar naar @friendshipbench, een organisatie uit Zimbabwe die in zes Afrikaanse landen (en zelfs daarbuiten) toegankelijke geestelijke gezondheidszorg biedt en zo helpt om de taboes rond mentale problemen te doorbreken. 🏆

#Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 : le modèle #zimbabwéen « Friendship Bench » décroche le Prix Afrique 2025-2026 de la Fondation Roi Baudouin Le programme communautaire de santé mentale « #FriendshipBench », fondé au Zimbabwe par le professeur Dixon Chibanda, a remporté le Prix Afrique 2025-2026 de la King Baudouin Foundation, assorti d’une dotation de 250 000 euros destinée à soutenir son expansion internationale. Créé en 2006 pour répondre au déficit de prise en charge des troubles mentaux au Zimbabwe, le modèle repose sur la formation d’agents de santé communautaires, principalement des femmes âgées surnommées « grand-mères », à la thérapie par la parole fondée sur des approches cognitivo-comportementales simplifiées. Les consultations se déroulent dans des espaces communautaires accessibles, souvent sur des bancs publics en bois. Selon la Fondation Roi Baudouin, plus d’un million de personnes ont déjà bénéficié du programme, désormais intégré au système de santé publique zimbabwéen en collaboration avec le ministère de la Santé. Le modèle est également expérimenté dans plusieurs pays, notamment au Malawi, au Kenya, au United Kingdom, en Germany et aux United States. L’organisation indique que le coût de prise en charge varie entre 13 et 16,50 dollars par patient, un niveau jugé compatible avec les ressources limitées des systèmes de santé africains. Des études cliniques citées par les promoteurs du projet font état d’une réduction pouvant atteindre 80 % des symptômes de dépression et d’anxiété chez certains bénéficiaires. L’Organisation mondiale de la santé estime qu’environ 150 millions de personnes souffrent de troubles mentaux en Afrique, alors que l’accès aux soins spécialisés demeure très limité. Au Zimbabwe, moins de 1 % du budget national de la santé est consacré à la santé mentale et le pays compte environ 18 psychiatres pour plus de 17 millions d’habitants. Le financement obtenu grâce au Prix Afrique permettra à Friendship Bench d’accélérer le déploiement de son programme « Friendship Bench in a Box », conçu pour faciliter l’adaptation du modèle dans différents systèmes de santé et atteindre des populations éloignées ou vulnérables. Le Prix Afrique de la Fondation Roi Baudouin récompense des initiatives africaines considérées comme innovantes et durables dans les domaines du développement et de l’impact social. Cette édition a réuni près de 900 candidatures examinées par un comité international indépendant de 12 experts.

Thank you to @ZvitamboZim for investing in capacity building and empowering CHWs with skills to deliver integrated nurturing care. This will go a long way in strengthening support for mothers and children in the community. Well done to all involved!

Stories can heal. Systems can transform. Join the conversation on breaking the silence around mental health through storytelling, inspired by In the Seashell Hum by Adipo Sidang. Wed 6 May 2026 7:30PM – 9:30PM EAT XSpaces Hosted by Nuria Bookstore in partnership with Ligala & Agora Theatre. 1. @BefriendersKE – Suicide prevention and emotional support in Kenya 2. @ChiromoHospital – One of Kenya’s leading mental health institutions 3. @MindfulAfrica ‐- Emerging mental health advocacy voices in Africa 4. @GMH_UofG – Global mental health research and systems thinking 5. @FriendshipBench – Zimbabwe-origin community mental health model using lay counselling 6. @Movement4GlobalMentalHealth – Academic practitioner global mental health network 7. @WFMH_Official – World Federation for Mental Health 8. @MentalHealth – Mental Health Foundation (UK) focusing on prevention and public mental health 9. @UnitedGMH – Leading global advocacy network for mental health financing and systems change 10. @WHOAFRO – Regional WHO office with mental health programming in Africa 11. @Amref_Worldwide – Community health systems including psychosocial wellbeing 12. @CBM_Global – Mental health and disability inclusion across low-income countries 13. @BasicNeedsGH – Strong mental health systems work in Africa (Ghana-origin, pan-African influence) 14. @Mental360Kenya – Youth mental health awareness and advocacy 15. @GatesFoundation – Major global health philanthropist funding systems-level health work 16. @FordFoundation – Supports equity, including mental health and wellbeing systems 17. @macfound – Social impact funding, including mental health and equity spaces 18. @MentalHealthAm – Mental Health America 19. @RockefellerFdn – Long-term systems thinking in global health and wellbeing 20. @UnitedGMH – Global advocacy for mental health financing and systems change 21. @GMH_UofG – Global mental health research and systems thinking 22. @MindfulAfrica (if you’re open regionally) – Emerging mental health advocacy voices in Africa x.com/i/spaces/1qJDzPRDlkkKV @AdipoSidang

The FB In A Box toolkit is designed to adapt to different community needs and structures. Our expansion is backed by a growing body of over 150 peer-reviewed research publications conducted in diverse global contexts. 📷 Read more: friendshipbench.org/publicat… #FriendshipBench

Africa faces a huge mental health treatment gap — with over 90% of people who need care unable to access it. Now the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is training journalists, lawyers, health workers, GBV survivors and advocates in Zimbabwe to become leaders pushing for stronger mental health systems across the continent. From lived experience to policy change, a new generation of advocates is rising. 🔗 Read the full story: healthtimes.co.zw/2026/03/16… @AfricaCDC @WHOAFRO @MoHCCZim @Amref_Kenya @AfricanUnionUN @friendshipbench @MentalHealthFN

💙 Honoring a legacy in mental health! The University of Zimbabwe and Africa CDC have named a leadership short course after the late Dr. Evelyn Mazike, celebrating her dedication to mental health in #Zimbabwe. Read more 👇 healthtimes.co.zw/2026/03/13… @MoHCCZim @AfricaCDC @WHOAFRO @WHO_Zimbabwe @friendshipbench @Sectioned_ @CWGH1

🚨 Global research funding opportunity for mental health nurses! Mental health nurse practitioners can now apply for new international research grants to study schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, two of the world’s most serious mental health conditions. These grants aim to support innovative research that could improve care and outcomes for millions living with severe mental illness. 🧠 Don’t miss this chance to contribute to groundbreaking mental health research. 🔗 Read more: healthtimes.co.zw/2026/03/12… @Alkermesplc @friendshipbench @MoHCCZim @WHOAFRO