African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI)

The African Mental Health Research Initiative (AMARI) is part of the Wellcome Trust’s programme for Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science (DELTAS) in Africa.

AMARI is a consortium of four African universities, supported by three UK universities, whose overall goal is to build an Africa-led network of future leaders in mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) research in Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It will achieve this by recruiting nearly 50 fellows across MPhil, PhD and Post-doc programmes, and intensively training and supporting these researchers.

AMARI aims to equip researchers to lead high quality mental health research programmes that meet the needs of their countries, and to establish a sustainable career path for these researchers. A particular focus is on integrating MNS research into existing programmes such as HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health work.

Project team

• Professor Dixon Chibanda – Director
• Professor Melanie Abas
• Professor Ricardo Araya
• Professor Crick Lund
• Professor Charlotte Hanlon – Co-Investigator and Ethiopian Lead
• Dr Chris Merritt
• Professor Helen Weiss
• Dr Lorna Gibson
• Laura Donovan
• Dr Ritsuko (Ritz) Kakuma

Project Partners

Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

University of Cape Town, South Africa

University of Zimbabwe, Harare

Funder