The partnership between the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) and the organisation Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) seeks to make the existing CORESZON capacity-building programme available to other organisations in Kenya in order to allow even more people to benefit from community-based psychosocial health support and prevention services.
Context:
60% of Nairobi’s ever-growing population lives in slums plagued by poverty and violence. Up to 53% of residents are affected by mental illness. The problem is compounded by the fact that those affected have very limited access to professional treatment.
Activities:
- Providing mental health training for young people and their caregivers to supplement the CORESZON basic training programme
- Developing the SHOFCO team through capacity building with external organisations and two train-the-trainer courses at the project locations in Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa
- Raising awareness of trends in the public health sector and developing a marketing and dissemination strategy in preparation for subsequent upscaling
- Devising a measurable upscaling strategy
- Delivering a seminar for German medical professionals on simplifying a society-driven transformation in psychosocial care
Results:
The CORESZON project enables Kenyan slum dwellers to access professional treatment and support for mental illness. This raises the profile of good mental health, with individuals able to take preventative action to protect their own mental health.