Grand Challenges Canada funds BasicNeeds' innovative, franchised model for improving mental health and development
Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada today announces a CDN $1 million scale up investment in an innovative, franchised approach to the treatment and support of mental illness in resource-poor countries. The Canadian government money will be matched by international partners for a total investment of CDN$2 million (US$1.6 million).
Developed by international mental health and development NGO BasicNeeds, the funding will enable a major expansion of their award-winning model for helping those living with mental illness in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.
Today nearly 75% of the 450 million people worldwide with mental illness and epilepsy live in the developing world, and 85% of these people have no access to treatment. The size of the problem is huge, with depression alone projected to be the leading global burden of disease by 2030.
This urgent and currently unmet need for better treatment and expanded access to care for those living with mental disorders in resource poor settings is what the 'BasicNeeds Model' seeks to address.
BasicNeeds' unique approach works with existing health and community systems, and staff to provide community based mental health treatment through outreach clinics, mental health camps and regular check-ups. However, treatment alone is not enough for sustained improvements to mental health, which is why the Model also increases an individual's access to emotional and practical support through self-help groups, improves their capacity to find meaningful occupation and employment, and ultimately works to changes health systems and policy for the better.
Through the implementation of its model across 12 countries, BasicNeeds has presented strong evidence that its approach generates sustainable impact. It has enabled 86% of people with mental health problems in the communities they serve to access treatment (compared to 49% baseline), of which 73% reported reduced symptoms. The positive outcomes of reported reduced symptoms are underpinned by a reduction in mortality. Over the last 14 years, the lives of more than 600,000 beneficiaries have been improved. While this is a sizable number, it is only a drop in the ocean, when we consider the vast treatment gap.
The new investment announced today will enable organisations in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria to deliver the BasicNeeds Model for Mental Health and Development themselves, under a social franchise agreement, with ongoing training and assistance from BasicNeeds International. Empowering and supporting in-country organisations to take on the independent delivery of the BasicNeeds Model will expand its reach in a sustainable and cost effective manner, whilst ensuring that quality remains central to the delivery and BasicNeeds brand. Over 3 years the funding is projected to help 10,000 people.
Simultaneously, BasicNeeds Ghana will initiate scale-up through the direct implementation of the Model in new regions in Ghana. To support this process, researchers at the University of Ghana will be rigorously testing the Model's cost utility as compared to standard approaches to mental health treatment provided by the Ghana public health system. This will involve measuring costs against economic welfare, functional capacity and Quality Adjusted Life Years gained.
Grand Challenges Canada is investing CDN$1 million, bringing the total funding to CDN$2 million from investments made by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the Skoll Foundation, Caritas Nyeri, the Ministry of Health in Osogbo Osun State, Nigeria, and the Kenyan and Ghanaian governments.
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Canada, partners invest US $1.6M to improve mental health in Africa