Research and Training
We have participated and continue to participate in local and international research programmes aimed at expanding and sharing our knowledge base on mental health promotion and service provision. Our work has been published in local and international publications. Examples of such publications are listed below: "Conditions at Psychiatric Institutions in Zimbabwe: The Case of Ngomahuru Psychiatric Hospital" published in Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) Newsletter Volume 7 Issue 2 June 2009. http://www.zadhr.org/newsletters/78-zadhr-newsletter-volume-7-issue-2-june-2009.html Article in the Refugee Review Tribunal May 2009 which was a research on how the Zimbabwe society treats people living with mental conditions with special focus on state of support as well as discrimination. https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4b6fe323d.pdf Contribution to Global Mental Health Inside Stories by Mr Ignicious Murambidzi the National Coordinator for ZIMNAMH. https://in2mentalhealth.com/2013/08/31/global-mental-health-inside-stories-ignicious-murambidzi-harare-zimbabwe/ WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR OUR SERVICES? Our services are open to all people who are in need ranging from children in schools, youths in communities and institutions of higher learning as well as adults in various settings. The only exception is our rehabilitation programme at Tirivanhu which accepts people who are above eighteen years. Those below eighteen years can be housed at other affiliate or related institutions such as Tariro Halfway Homes and Queen of Peace Rehabilitation and Crisis Support Centre which have appropriate infrastructure and manpower for caring for minor clients.
Advocacy
We propose, review and influence laws and policies related to mental health and disability, and advocate for better care, treatment and rehabilitation of people who suffer from mental health problems. The advocacy is guided by international declarations especially the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) which came into force in 2008. The Convention sets out a wide range of rights including, among others, civil and political rights, the right to live in the community, participation and inclusion, education, health, employment and social protection. Even before the CRPD the organisation had been involved in advocacy work including input into the Zimbabwe Mental Health Act which came into force in 2004 and is now due for a review to catch up with the latest human rights trends. We work with policy makers and are currently pushing for a significant and specific allocation or vote for mental health in the country's National Budget. The push is on the observation that there is no specific budget allocation for community mental health initiatives which gets its share from the global health budget whose attention is currently skewed towards central mental hospitals other elements of health. Community mental health remains a peripheral and under-resourced matter. An article in the Daily News edition of May 10 2011 where ZIMANMH was urging the government to do more in terms of upholding the rights of persons with mental health conditions.
Education
The organization runs programmes aimed at raising awareness and understanding of mental health issues in the communities. The programmes also aim at fostering early identification and intervention in mental health issues so as to help mitigate the effects of mental health deterioration. Some of the programmes incorporate students from various universities around the country who implement activities in their local communities being supported, guided and monitored by the organization. The education agenda has also seen us featuring in radio and television programmes, local and international print media as well as participation in expo's and key celebrations such as the World Mental Heath Day that is celebrated on the 10 October of each year since its start in 1992. The 2020 Theme for World Mental Health day is "Mental Health for All.Greater Investment – Greater Access " Radio and Television Programmes: The organization has featured on radio programmes such as Nguva yavakaremara, Seka Urema Wafa on Radio Zimbabwe as well as the popular Zimbabwean talk show called Mai Chisamba Show. Print Media We are present in the print media in both English and vernacular languages pushing the mental health issues and the most recent was in May 2020 when we were highlighting the need to remember persons with mental health condition in the provision of personal protection equipment in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Herald of 12 May 2020. The title translates "Mental Health patients also need protection" . It refers to comments by Mr Ignicious Murambidzi, ZIMNAMH's National Coordinator, highlighting the fact that persons with mental health conditions were among the most vulnerable to COVID-19 given that they have often been segregated and left out of welfare programmes even before the pandemic. https://www.pressreader.com/zimbabwe/the-herald-zimbabwe/20200512/281698321926645
Mental Rehabilitation Services
The organization runs a mental health rehabilitation institution or half way home called Tirivanhu Therapeutic Centre in Ruwa about 30 kilometres out of Harare off the Harare-Mutare Highway. The name Tirivanhu is a Shona word which translates "We are people" and it came out of realisation that persons with mental health conditions, as is often with other impairments, are usually identified by their condition thereby clouding out the fact that the first and fundamental issue that of being a person with the condition coming in second. The centre has a shared capacity to take up to 26 clients at a time. Here, clients are admitted for a maximum period of 18 months while their recovery process is carefully monitored by an enthusiastic team that includes a clinical psychiatrist, a social worker and other staff members who include former clients. The admission process is done according to health protocols set by the Ministry of Health and Child Care and is currently limited to persons above 18 years. These come from the formal referral systems such as Hospitals, Prison Services and the department of Social Welfare. To date, more than 1200 people have gone through the Centre and were successfully reintegrated back into their families and communities where they are taking up formal and informal employment . The major elements of this service are follows: Monitored administration of medication as well as facilitation of clients' medical reviews at medical institutions Life skills training focusing on horticulture and animal husbandry. The rehabilitation centre sits on thirty nine hectares of land of which at least twenty hectares are arable. In spite of the challenges related to capacity utilization, the organization is engaged in farming activities as well as the rearing of livestock such as cattle, rabbits and sheep. Family reunion programmes for those clients whose relationships would have disintegrated during times of acute illness. Relationships disruptions occur due to a number of factors including acts that the clients would have done during their time of illness as well as unfounded stigma and beliefs surrounding the source, cause or treatment of the illness. We also work with affiliate organisations offering similar services such as Tariro Halfway Homes in Glenview (Harare Province) and Beatrice (Mashonaland East Province), Rukariro Rehabilitation Centre in Odzi (Manicaland Province) and Queen of Peace Rehabilitation and Crisis Support Centre in Gweru (Midlands Province).
Disability Support Programmes
Recently, ZIMNAMH with the support from The International Federation for Electoral Systems (IFES) assessed the accessibility of polling stations by persons with disabilities and proffered recommendations and technical support to local authorities on disability inclusion based on Universal Design Principles ZIMNAMH staff assessing disability accessibility of public amenities used as polling stations. Handover of wheelchairs and other assistive devices sourced by ZIMNAMH We are a member of the National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH). As a member, the organization runs programmes that seek to protect and advance the rights of persons with disabilities including children. Subject to the availability of funding the organization offers disability support equipment such as crutches, wheel chairs, white canes, medication, Braille equipment, hearing aids, among many others. Part of the programmes done to date include the National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (NAP) which was funded by UNICEF and was implemented in four Districts namely Shamva, Bindura, Chegutu and Zvimba between 2009 and 2012. Highlights of projects under NAP are in the Gallery Section. We have also been involved in interventions that led to assistance of many patients who were held in sub -humane conditions including being kept in chains. Some of the interventions were captured in the local print media. Kwayedza Report showing pictures of two of the nineteen mental health patients who had spent more than a year in chains undergoing some faith based treatment process. They were released into clinical treatment after intervention of ZIMNAMH. The Title translates "Mental Health patients kept in chains"
Psychosocial Support
ZIMNAMH offers psychosocial support and counselling services to all people who are in need without discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, political affiliation or any other segregatory criteria. The services also extend to people living with HIV.