- Implementing Organization: Africa Academy for Public Health (AAPH)
- Type: Ecosystem Catalyst Grant
- Location: Tanzania
Our Ecosystem Catalyst (EC) Grants help scale youth-led ideas, remove barriers to mental health prevention and promotion support, and test how youth-led innovation can work within and improve existing systems.
Ecosystem Building in Tanzania
The first national mental health strategic plan in Tanzania will launch in 2025. The government has increased resource allocation to the Ministry of Health, signalling a growing commitment to mental health promotion and prevention. A coordinated, inclusive approach involving local experts, youth, and people with lived experience is needed to ensure youth mental health is a core priority.
The Ecosystem Catalyst Project
The Africa Academy for Public Health (AAPH) will lead ecosystem-building efforts in Tanzania, focusing on improving national coordination and advocacy around developing sustainable financing and implementing the new mental health strategic plan.
AAPH will leverage existing networks and infrastructure to address systemic barriers, promote cross-sector integration of mental health, and generate local demand for youth-centred mental health innovations. As part of this EC project, AAPH will pursue three main objectives:
- Strengthen leadership, governance, and coordination and engage funders, stakeholders, youth, and people with lived experience.
- Improve planning, financing, and resource mobilization through a national mental health resource mapping and advocate for increased government funding and public-private partnerships.
- Enhance mental health information and innovation by raising awareness of and aligning high-potential innovations funded by Being with national priorities to drive interest among public and private sector stakeholders.
By improving coordination and advocacy at the national level, AAPH aims to support the successful rollout and sustainability of Tanzania’s mental health strategic plan, leading to better-integrated services, increased funding, and expanded uptake of youth mental health innovations.
