Advancing Mental Health Awareness in Africa through Global Partnerships, Media, and Community Action – Episode 1

Webinar title: Breaking the Silence: Advancing Mental Health Awareness in Africa through Global Partnerships, Media, and Community Action – Episode 1: Empowering Local Voices: Strengthening Community-Based Mental Health Initiatives in Africa
Mental health remains one of the most neglected public health issues across Africa. It is often silenced by stigma, systemic neglect, and cultural taboos. This webinar encourages nurses to step up as frontline advocates and changemakers in the fight for mental health equity.

Speaker: Dr. Akwasi Duah

Speaker: Mr. Francis Yeboah
Francis Yeboah is a dedicated Community Psychiatric Nurse at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, with over 10 years of experience in community mental health care and advocacy. Passionate about reducing stigma, promoting awareness, and improving access to psychiatric services at the community level. I have been a strong advocate for the decriminalization of attempted suicide, emphasizing compassion and treatment over punishment. Through outreach programs, counseling, training, and media engagement,I work with families, faith-based groups, and institutions to create supportive environments that foster healing, dignity, and resilience for people living with mental illness.

Speaker: Mr. Osei Boateng
Growing up in a small community in Ghana, Osei experienced the harsh realities of healthcare disparities, losing both his grandmother and aunt to preventable deaths. These experiences ignited his mission to ensure that rural and underserved populations have access to the care they deserve. He founded the OKB Hope Foundation, which has since delivered free medical care to over 10,000 people in more than 80 rural communities and provided mental health education to 3,000 high school students. Osei also co-founded OneHealth+, a digital platform enabling people in the diaspora to fund healthcare for their loved ones. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology and Society, a Master of Healthcare Administration from Cornell University, and a Master of Business Creation from the University of Utah.

Speaker: Dr. Brenda Owusu
Dr. Brenda Owusu, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, ANP-BC, is an Associate Professor of Clinical and Director of the AGPCNP Program at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies. A dual-board-certified Autonomous APRN, she integrates active practice with teaching, research, and service. Her scholarship addresses chronic disease disparities, with publications in JAMA Network Open, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Journal of Nursing Scholarship, and Nursing Open. She co-authored the PCNA White Paper, shaping national outreach standards, and a Clinician Reviews CE course reaching 300,000+ clinicians. She mentors 30+ underrepresented students, is the Dean of Nursing at the University of Eastern Finland, and leads APRN curriculum reform in Ghana. She received the Clinical Faculty of the Year Award (2021) at the University of Miami.

Speaker: Mrs. Katrina Binutu
Katrina Binutu is a filmmaker whose work examines power dynamics, identity, and social transformation. Imparting her experience as a worker’s rights researcher at Cornell University and a union organizer, her storytelling delves into nature vs. nurture, shedding light on the distance within shared identities. Mrs. Binutu’s upcoming project expands Rite of Passage, a short film supported by Women in Film & Video and the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund, into a feature-length work that explores choice and mental health across generations.

Objectives:

• Examine the social, cultural, and systemic obstacles that hinder access to mental health care across Africa
• Examine the role of traditional and social media in shaping public perceptions of mental health
• Highlight successful community-based mental health initiatives in Africa (example: HeyAkua)