What exactly Mental Health Tanzania (MHT) is all about?
MHT is the leading mental healthcare organization in Tanzania for creating, designing, and implementing programs, projects, campaigns, and activities across the country and beyond on mental healthcare; with two (2) main thematic focuses and six (6) specialty areas of target (objectives) summarized as:
– To sustain/ maintain mental health and wellbeing of every individual through intervention and preventive measures such as psychoeducation, mental health awareness, advocacy, mental health training and mentorship, community psychological and psychosocial support, mental health research.
– To provide treatments and managements of mental illnesses and psychological challenges to service users (mental and medical approach) through holistic mental health clinical and psychiatric services such as screening, assessments and diagnosis, providing psychotherapy, counselling and guidance as well as offering Tele-Mental Health Services
Background & Experience:
Mental Health Tanzania (MHT) started as The Mental Health Movement which existed even some years at least back then 2014, tirelessly advocating and serving individuals on mental health matters. Thereafter, the movement grew in the process of establishing the Mental Health Initiative. In 2018, the Mental Health Initiative was formally promoted and registered as Community-Based Organization (CBO) operating in Mwanza Region with the name of Mental Health Tanzania Organization.
In attributing to founder’s exceptional ability in leadership, self-directed, results-oriented and aspiration of advocating and promoting mental healthcare in Tanzania – in 2020, Mental Health Tanzania was upgraded and registered to operating nationwide as Non-Government Organization (NGO), under the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Act of 2002 with registration No. ooNGO/R/1232.
This has been transformation of MHT from movement to initiative to CBO to finally become the leading Mental Healthcare Institution in Tanzania. MHT is proudly to be one of the firsts and long-standing mental health organizations in Tanzania.
Preamble: The establishment of MHT is grounded to the fact of numerous challenges facing mental healthcare systems, thus mental healthcare is unknown model to most of the population unlike to physical healthcare due to limited awareness, services delivery, accessibility, resources, funds, facilities, governance, researches, regulations, policies, data and records.
The consequences of not addressing mental health conditions at early stage, extends to adulthood, impairing both physical and mental health and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives, and finally individuals are dying in the shadow of mental illnesses and psychological challenges.
Beneficiaries: MHT has been working with different groups of people including, children, youths, women, marginalized groups, and all individuals who are not only suffering from mental health conditions and psychological challenges but also people who need mental health motivations for their everyday lives.