Impact partner profile
StrongMinds
Ending the depression epidemic in Africa

2013
515 Valley Street, Suite 200 Maplewood, NJ 07040, United States of America
September 2020
Mental Health
Uganda and Zambia
strongminds.org
StrongMinds exists to deliver life-changing mental healthcare to African women. Founded in 2013, the organisation has provided a simple, proven, and cost-effective group talk therapy to approximately 230,000 women and adolescents in Uganda and Zambia, positively transforming their psychological health, economic well-being, and the lives of their children.
An estimated 280 million people worldwide suffer from depression. In Africa, where women experience the disorder at twice the rate of men, depression is a leading cause of disability. When an African woman is depressed, her economic livelihood, resilience, and physical health diminish. Her children suffer from poorer school attendance and an increased risk of depression, illness, and injury. In underserved communities in Uganda and Zambia, StrongMinds finds depression prevalence rates of up to 25% among the women we screen. Yet, the services to treat these women are not in place.
StrongMinds’ solution is an innovative and rigorously tested therapeutic model to treat depression in vulnerable African communities. The model uses Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT-G) in a culturally adapted format delivered by local laypeople and volunteers. On average, over 80% of the women StrongMinds treats recover from depression at the conclusion of therapy and remain depression-free six months after treatment ends. These results are sustained years into their future.
Exponential growth is needed to end the depression epidemic in Africa. Over the past ten years, StrongMinds has built a robust program that demonstrates the efficacy of their methods and their ability to expand geographically and minimise costs. They have established winning partnerships with proven impact and significant return on investment. The organisation is now poised to scale their model through sustainable partnerships with governments and international non-governmental organisations, broadening the lasting social impact that is seen when women regain their mental health.
Yearly, StrongMinds serves over 100,000 women and adolescents, furthering their mission to end the depression epidemic in Africa.
Core impact goals
Increased reach
StrongMinds aim to increase treatment provided to African women suffering from depression (as measured by the total number of patients treated per year).
Increase in depression-free patients
StrongMinds has a goal of increasing the percentage of treated patients who are depression-free after completing therapy. This is the percentage of patients showing a reduction in depressive symptoms to the level that they can no longer be diagnosed as depressed.
Decrease in depression scores
StrongMinds are aiming to see an average reduction in depression scores among treated patients as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) Depression Screening Tool.
Type of grant funding given
428,333 *AUD
*Unrestricted Grants funded from October 2020 to December 2023
12 month (Oct 2020-Sep 2021) unrestricted funded grant: $250,000 AUD