ACGMH 2027 · Makerere University, Kampala
Strengthening Community-Based Mental Health Systems: Innovation, Equity, and Resilience. Three major conference tracks consolidate our sub-themes while communicating an African-centered, systems-focused vision for global mental health.
Why Three Themes
Based on the overarching vision of “Strengthening Community-Based Mental Health Systems: Innovation, Equity, and Resilience,” the themes have been strategically consolidated into three major conference tracks that are broad enough to accommodate the existing sub-themes while clearly communicating the conference’s African-centered vision and systems focus.
Equity · Access · Systems Strengthening
This theme focuses on transforming mental health care from centralized, specialist-driven systems toward accessible, community-based, and people-centered approaches grounded in African realities. It highlights the urgent need to close the mental health treatment gap by integrating care into primary health care, schools, workplaces, humanitarian systems, and community structures.
The theme further emphasizes inclusion, cultural responsiveness, workforce development, financing, and policy systems that ensure mental health care reaches underserved and marginalized populations across Africa.
African Perspective
This theme recognizes that African communities already possess strong social and communal systems that can be leveraged to strengthen mental health access, prevention, and recovery.
Integration of mental health into primary health care and community systems
Workforce development, supervision, and task-sharing
Mental health financing and sustainability
Youth and school mental health systems
Humanitarian mental health and psychosocial support
Substance use and community rehabilitation
Suicide prevention and crisis response systems
Occupational and workplace mental health
Monitoring, evaluation, and implementation science
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and mental health policy
Innovation · Research · Scalability
This theme explores emerging innovations reshaping the future of mental health care across Africa and other low-resource settings. It emphasizes African-led innovation, contextually grounded research, digital mental health, artificial intelligence, implementation science, and scalable models capable of reaching populations traditionally excluded from care.
The theme positions Africa not merely as a recipient of global mental health ideas, but as a generator of innovative, culturally relevant, and scalable solutions for the world.
African Perspective
This theme emphasizes innovation emerging from African contexts, lived realities, indigenous knowledge systems, and community resilience—not simply imported models adapted to Africa.
Digital mental health and AI-driven approaches
Tele-mental health and remote supervision
Data systems, monitoring, and real-time analytics
Implementation science and systems research
Community-based innovations and scalable interventions
Digital storytelling and communication for mental health
Peer-led and youth-driven interventions
Innovations in training and supervision systems
Measurement tools and culturally grounded evidence generation
Ethical and human-centered technology integration
Resilience · Belonging · Cultural Identity
This theme centers the social, cultural, spiritual, and relational foundations of mental health in African communities.
The theme explores how communities respond to trauma, adversity, violence, displacement, and social change while building resilience, belonging, and hope.
African Perspective
This theme uplifts African philosophies of collective wellbeing, interconnectedness, cultural identity, and shared healing as central pillars of mental health systems.
Arts, storytelling, and mental health promotion
Faith, spirituality, and traditional healing systems
Social connection, belonging, and community cohesion
Trauma, violence, and human rights
Gender, culture, and social determinants of mental health
Community resilience and collective healing
Conflict, displacement, and recovery
Mindfulness, wellbeing, and preventive mental health
Masculinity, identity, and emotional wellbeing
Stigma reduction and culturally responsive care
Across Every Theme
The following principles apply across all conference themes and guide every submission, panel, and discussion at ACGMH 2027.
Conference Positioning
The conference seeks to reposition Africa from the margins to the center of global mental health conversations.
01
Elevating African scholarship, practice, and lived experience
02
Strengthening community-based systems of care
03
Promoting innovation grounded in local realities
04
Advancing culturally meaningful, scalable, and sustainable mental health solutions for Africa and the world
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