There are many mental health NGOs in Africa, but finding those that are truly active and functioning can be surprisingly difficult. That is why I have put together this list of active mental health NGOs across the continent to make your search a little easier.
Whether you are looking for support, wanting to volunteer or simply trying to understand the mental health landscape across Africa, I hope this list is a helpful starting point.
This list was last updated in June 2026, so it is fairly recent.
Mental Health NGOs in Africa
1. Zimbabwe National Association for Mental Health (ZIMNAMH)
Country: Zimbabwe
Established: 1981
ZIMNAMH is one of Zimbabwe’s oldest and most established mental health advocacy organisations. They work to strengthen mental health advocacy, promote the rights of people with psychosocial disabilities and have partnered with UNICEF, UNDP and other international bodies on community-based mental health programmes across Zimbabwe.
2. South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG)
Country: South Africa
Established: 1994
SADAG is Africa’s largest mental health support and advocacy organisation. They operate over 30 national helplines, including 24-hour crisis and suicide prevention lines, run over 200 support groups across South Africa and provide counselling, education and outreach programmes to urban, rural and remote communities alike.
3. Africa Institute of Mental and Brain Health (AFRIMEB)
Country: Kenya
Established: 2000
AFRIMEB is a public benefit organisation based in Nairobi dedicated to mental health and neurological health research, training and advocacy. They work with a wide range of professionals to develop evidence-based interventions, build mental health capacity across Kenya and provide affordable, accessible mental health services to underserved communities.
4. Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI)
Country: Nigeria
Established: 2015
MANI is the largest youth-led and youth-focused mental health organisation in West Africa, with over 1,500 active volunteers across 18 states in Nigeria. They provide counselling support, crisis intervention, mental health training in schools and workplaces, and run conversation cafes across multiple states.
5. Mental Health Uganda (MHU)
Country: Uganda
Established: 1997
MHU is an indigenous Ugandan non-profit and membership-based organisation dedicated to advocating for the rights and wellbeing of persons with psychosocial disabilities and their families. They work across all regions of Uganda, providing peer support, mental health awareness, sustainable livelihoods programmes and advocacy for improved mental health services and policies across the country.
6. Alenelachehu Charitable Organization (ACO)
Country: Ethiopia
Established: 2023
ACO is an Ethiopia-based non-profit dedicated to mental health advocacy and awareness. They run free awareness events, self-help support groups, and work to connect people in need to affordable professional mental health care. Their work focuses particularly on youth mental health, suicide prevention and breaking the stigma around mental illness in Ethiopian society.
7. She Writes Woman
Country: Nigeria
Established: 2016
She Writes Woman operates Nigeria’s first privately held 24-hour mental health helpline and runs Safe Place support groups across the country where people can access mental health support in a safe, non-judgmental environment.
8. Care and Action for Mental Health in Africa (CAMHA)
Country: Ghana
Established: Not clearly stated
CAMHA is a Ghana-based mental health NGO focused on improving mental healthcare through health education, crisis intervention and community awareness. They run Mental Health 365, a year-round initiative focused on awareness, early intervention and community support, operating on the belief that mental health support should be available every day and not just during awareness months.
9. Hadassah Foundation Cameroon
Country: Cameroon
Established: 2018
Hadassah Foundation is a legally registered NGO based in Buea, Southwest Cameroon, created in direct response to the mental health crisis affecting Internally Displaced Persons and host communities in conflict-affected zones. They provide counselling, psychosocial support, mental health education and social-emotional learning in schools. They also work specifically with survivors of gender based violence.
10. South African Federation for Mental Health (SAFMH)
Country: South Africa
Established: 1920
SAFMH is one of the oldest mental health organisations in Africa, constituted by 17 mental health societies and over 107 member organisations across South Africa. They work to coordinate, monitor and promote mental health services for persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, advocate for their rights and promote good mental health and wellbeing among the South African public.
11. YouBelong Uganda (YBU)
Country: Uganda
Established: 2016
YouBelong Uganda is an NGO that works to transition people out of mental institutions and back into family and community life. Their mission is to strengthen Uganda’s health system by embedding mental health care at the level of family and local health facilities, shifting the centre of care away from hospitals and towards community-centred support.
12. Empower Minds Tanzania
Country: Tanzania
Established: Not clearly stated
Empower Minds Tanzania is a non-profit dedicated to fostering mental health awareness and promoting holistic well-being in communities across Tanzania, with a mission to reduce stigma and empower individuals through education, support, and advocacy. They run workshops, support groups, and community outreach in schools and rural areas where mental health services are scarce.
13. Psychebabble Foundation
Country: Nigeria
Established: Not clearly stated
Psychebabble Foundation is a youth-led, youth-focused Nigerian non-profit that exists to equip young people with coping strategies for mental wellness and improve help-seeking behaviour. Its programmes include free mental health first aid counselling, peer support groups, school counsellor support, and the Psychebabble Fellowship for young mental health professionals.
14. Choose Life Ghana Foundation
Country: Ghana
Established: 2017
Choose Life Ghana Foundation is a non-profit NGO dedicated to tackling mental health issues among young people in Ghana. They provide free therapy for Ghanaian youth. One of their notable initiatives is Echoes From Faraday, an inclusive artistic community supporting the mental health of women footballers across Africa.
15. Asido Foundation
Country: Nigeria
Established: 2019
Asido Foundation is a non-profit mental health advocacy organisation that provides evidence-based information, advocacy, and interventions to address the mental health needs of Nigerians. They focus on awareness, support, and empowerment initiatives to build mental health resilience and drive systems change across communities.
16. The YANA Foundation (You Are Not Alone)
Country: Zambia
YANA Foundation is an independent non-profit working to promote mental health among young people aged 16 to 30 in Zambia. They raise awareness through presentations and workshops in schools and churches, run a network of trained volunteer counsellors called Listeners who provide one-on-one support both in person and remotely, and connect young people to professional mental health providers when needed.
17. BasicNeeds Basic Rights Kenya (BNBR)
Country: Kenya
Established: 2016 as an independent national NGO
BNBR is a nationally registered NGO that runs community-based mental health programmes across multiple counties, implements the school-based Youth First Kenya wellbeing and resilience programme reaching over 74,000 students across 16 counties, and has steered a civil society group of over 60 organisations to review Kenya’s national mental health policy and legislation.
18. Recherche Action Prévention Accompagnement des Addictions (RAPAA)
Country: Togo
Established: 2013
RAPAA is a Togolese non-governmental organisation that conducts research, advocacy and community education on substance use and behavioural addictions while also providing support services for individuals and families affected by addiction. RAPAA offers counselling, psychosocial support, referrals and interventions aimed at improving the mental wellbeing of vulnerable populations.
Browse the full directory of mental health NGOs in Africa organised by country
19. Afak Santé Mentale
Country: Morocco
Established: Active since around 2017
Afak Santé Mentale is a Moroccan NGO based in Casablanca that brings together mental health professionals, service users, families, and caregivers. It promotes community mental health, reduces stigma, and supports the social inclusion of people living with mental health conditions through coordinated medical, psychological, and social support services, including rehabilitation and community-based care.
20. Mental Health Foundation Cameroon
Country: Cameroon
Established: not stated
Core of humanity Mental Health Foundation Cameroon is a non-profit dedicated to promoting mental wellness among children, adolescents, women and men, particularly vulnerable and underserved populations across Cameroon. They work closely with communities, schools, hospitals and local leaders to reduce stigma and provide accessible mental health services through advocacy, education, counselling and psychosocial support.
21. Nigerian Mental Health (NMH)
Country: Nigeria
Established: 2019
NMH is a global community of mental health practitioners and organisations actively working to improve mental health policy and psychosocial wellbeing in Nigeria. They primarily work with mental health organisations and institutions rather than individuals.
Related: 12 Active Mental Health NGOs In Nigeria You Should Know
22. Association Marocaine pour la Promotion de la Santé Mentale (AMPS)
Country: Morocco
Established: Not clearly stated
AMPS is a Moroccan non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting mental health and wellbeing among young people. The organisation conducts awareness campaigns, educational programmes and mental health workshops aimed at reducing stigma, preventing mental health disorders and helping young people develop resilience and emotional wellbeing.
23. Neem Foundation
Country: Nigeria
Established: 2016
Neem Foundation is a non-profit doing particularly important work in Borno State, one of the areas most affected by conflict and trauma in Nigeria. They provide trauma-informed support and community-based mental health interventions to populations that have experienced the psychological impact of violence and displacement.
24. Association Saint-Camille de Lellis
Countries: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo
Established: 1991
Association Saint-Camille de Lellis is an African charity providing mental health services, first established in Côte d’Ivoire in 1991 before expanding to Benin in 2004 and Togo thereafter. Across their 18 centres in the three countries, they have treated over 140,000 patients to date. Their work focuses particularly on people found abandoned on the streets or chained in their communities, providing psychiatric care, rehabilitation and vocational training to support reintegration into society.
25. IBUKA
Country: Rwanda
Established: 1995
IBUKA — meaning “Remember” in Kinyarwanda- is the principal umbrella NGO representing genocide survivors in Rwanda. Their work spans memory preservation, justice, and survivor support, with psychosocial healing and mental health resilience forming a significant part of what they do. They have trained counsellors, treated thousands of cases, and conducted research to identify survivors with unhealed mental health disorders.
26. Mental Health Tanzania (MHT)
Country: Tanzania
Established: 2014 (registered as an NGO in 2020)
Mental Health Tanzania is one of the first and longest-standing mental health organisations in the country. MHT provides holistic mental health services, including community psychosocial support, psychoeducation, mental health awareness, advocacy, clinical and psychiatric services, and mental health research across Tanzania.
27. Valor Mental Health Foundation (VMHF)
Country: Botswana
Established: 2017
Valor Mental Health Foundation is a youth-driven NGO based in Francistown, founded by Charlotte Siya-Ruwona and Dr. Chris Ruwona, both of whom live with mental illness, which inspired them to form the organisation. VMHF promotes awareness and education on mental health in Botswana, conducting campaigns, workshops and school visits across the country to encourage open conversations about mental health and reduce stigma.
28. TPO Uganda (Transcultural Psychosocial Organization)
Country: Uganda
Established: 1994
TPO Uganda is an NGO that started its work in Uganda in 1994 as the Institute for Psychosocial and Social Ecological Research, initially commissioned by UNHCR to study mental health and psychosocial issues affecting South Sudanese refugees. Over the years, they expanded their work beyond Uganda into Somalia, South Sudan, DRC, and Liberia, while also growing their domestic reach to serve underserved Ugandan communities affected by conflict and displacement.
29. Agir pour la Santé Mentale (ASM)
Country: Burkina Faso
Established: Not clearly stated
Agir pour la Santé Mentale is a youth-led non-profit association based in Burkina Faso, dedicated to promoting mental health awareness, education and support, especially among African youth and students. Founded by Kevine Konkobo, a pharmacy student and mental health advocate.
30. Trauma Healing and Reconciliation Services (THARS)
Country: Burundi
Established: 2000
THARS was founded by Dr. David Niyizonkiza, a survivor of the 1993 mass killings, with a vision to break the cycle of violence in Burundi by healing the invisible wounds of trauma. Through community therapeutic centres called Listening Centers, THARS provides trauma treatment, support groups, mediation, community dialogue and advocacy, while also training local volunteers as trauma listeners and peacebuilders across Burundi and the Great Lakes Region.
31. Tanzania Health and Medical Education Foundation (TAHMEF)
Country: Tanzania
Established: 2015
TAHMEF is a HealthTech non-profit born out of the urgent need to address the growing mental health crisis among young people who face barriers to care due to stigma, lack of awareness, and limited resources. They have built a population-scale youth mental health system reaching over 1.1 million youth through their AHADI mental health platform, a Hot-Call-199 helpline, an SMS helpline, and over 104 trained frontline responders.
32. Supportive Activists’ Foundation (SAF Gambia)
Country: The Gambia
Established: 2016
SAF is a mental health charity organisation founded by Solomon Correa to support people with mental ill-health and the needy. The foundation has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Health and has extended its work to Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and India. SAF Gambia has partnered with the German Depression Foundation to promote mental health awareness in Wolof and Mandinka.
33. IMERSE (International Mental Health Resource Services)
Country: Eswatini
Established: 2013
IMERSE is a leading non-governmental organisation focused on the promotion of mental health and prevention of mental disorders in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Established in 2013 as a response to numerous reports of mental health distress and suicide, IMERSE has worked with nurses, healthcare outreach workers and teachers, with the knowledge and skills necessary to manage mental health issues that arise within communities.
34. Friendship Bench Zimbabwe
Country: Zimbabwe
Established: 2006
Founded by Professor Dixon Chibanda, Friendship Bench was created to bridge the mental health treatment gap at a primary care level, providing mental health support in discreet, safe community spaces. Friendship Bench trains community health workers to deliver evidence-based talk therapy and has partnered with Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Care under the National Strategic Plan for Mental Health Services since 2019.
35. Stress Clinic Uganda
Country: Uganda
Established: 2023
Stress Clinic Uganda provides community-led mental health care across post-conflict, refugee-hosting and underserved communities in Uganda. Their work spans therapy, counselling, psychosocial support, neurodivergent-focused programmes and case management, delivered through a four-part model of Rescue, Respond, Rejuvenate and Sustain, designed to embed mental health care within communities for long-term impact.
36. Waves for Change
Country: South Africa
Established: 2009 (formally registered 2011)
Waves for Change is a South African non-profit that provides mental wellness support to adolescents growing up in high-stress environments through an evidence-based programme called Surf Therapy. Co-designed with the young people it serves, the programme combines structured therapeutic activities with surfing and has reached over 10,000 adolescents across the Western and Eastern Cape, while training over 215 community coaches since 2011.
37. Nivishe Foundation
Country: Kenya
Established: 2019
Nivishe Foundation improves access to dignified, culturally sensitive and affordable mental health services and literacy in Kenya’s low-income and marginalised communities. Working with community radio stations and using local languages, they offer pro bono therapy services primarily to women, girls and young people in informal settlements, while also running a Mental Health Fellowship programme.
Conclusion
This list is by no means exhaustive. The organisations featured are those with verifiable, active online presences that make it possible to confirm they are still functioning. This is because when researching mental health NGOs in Africa, an active website or social media presence matters. It allows people seeking support, volunteers, and donors to actually reach them.
Some organisations doing genuinely important work on the ground do not have an active online presence, which makes them difficult to verify and harder to include responsibly here.
There are also several African countries where locally founded mental health NGOs are either nonexistent or extremely difficult to identify, including Somalia, South Sudan, Eritrea, Liberia, the Central African Republic, Guinea and more. In many of these countries, mental health services are delivered almost entirely by international organisations, with little to no local civil society infrastructure dedicated specifically to mental health.
Looking for mental health support right now? Visit our resource page to find help near you.
Author: Chinasa Lovlyn Nwachukwu is a mental health coach and writer passionate about raising mental health awareness across Africa.
