The Friendship Bench in Zimbabwe

1. The
Friendship
Bench in
Zimbabwe
Dr Melanie
Abas
Dr Dixon
Chibanda

2. What is the Friendship Bench?
• Screening for CMD
• Assessment: key problem
Kuvhura Pfungwa
• Problem Solving Therapy (PST)
• Review
• Referral options

3. Staffing the
Friendship
Bench
system
Community
Psychiatrist
School
Police
NGO
Nurse Supervisor
Lay Workers

4. History of the Friendship Bench
2006
Operation
Murambatsvina
2010
Preliminary results.
Partners expand
Grand Challenges
Canada trial
funding
2013
Trial results
2017
Qualitative
studies
2013
Dixon Chibanda MPH
2006

5. Trial results
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
WHO-DAS SSQ GAD-7 PHQ-9
Control arm (n=261) Intervention arm (n=243)
*
*
* p <.001

6. Scaling up the project • 3 cities, 400 lay workers
• 23,000+ clients
• GCC / MSF
• Local University links
• African Mental Health
Research Initiative
AMARI consortium
NIHR

7. Acknowledgments
Dixon Chibanda, Tarisai Bere, Ronald
Munjoma, Ruth Verhey, Prosper
Chonzi, PHC clinic nurses and lay
workers, Frances Cowan, Walter
Mangezi, Ethel Manda, Tarryn
Bowers, Petra Mesu
London partners Helen Weiss, Ricardo
Araya, Victoria Simms, Southwark
Psychological Therapy Services,
Zimbabwe Health Training Support,
Dorcas Mwenge, Rae Adams
Funders Grand Challenges Canada,
Medecin Sans Frontieres, Wellcome
Trust, AESA