The Grandmothers Helping Solve Africa's Mental Health Crisis with Esther Tumbare

Episode 229 with Esther Tumbare, Chief Executive Officer of Friendship Bench, a pioneering Zimbabwean organisation transforming access to mental healthcare through community based solutions that have reached hundreds of thousands of people and expanded across multiple countries.

Esther leads Friendship Bench's efforts to scale one of Africa's most recognised healthcare innovations while working closely with governments, public health systems, and community health workers to make mental healthcare more accessible, affordable, and sustainable. In this episode, she shares how Friendship Bench is helping address Africa's mental health crisis by reimagining the delivery of mental healthcare in underserved communities.

Drawing on Friendship Bench's experience integrating evidence based mental health services into primary healthcare systems, Esther explains how the organisation has built a scalable model that combines local trust, rigorous research, and community led support to bridge the mental health treatment gap. She discusses the economic impact of depression and anxiety, the relationship between mental health and productivity, and why investing in mental healthcare should be viewed as both a public health priority and an economic development opportunity.

What We Discuss With Esther

• Why Africa cannot unlock its economic potential without addressing mental health.
• How a grandmother on a wooden bench is helping solve one of healthcare's biggest workforce challenges.
• The hidden cost of untreated mental health on productivity, employment, and economic growth.
• Why government adoption, not donor funding, is the key to scaling social impact.
• What African innovators can learn from Friendship Bench's journey from local solution to global model.

Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss Can Financing Unlock Africa's EV Revolution Faster Than Technology? Make sure to check it out!

Connect with Terser:
LinkedIn – Terser Adamu
Instagram – unlockingafrica
Twitter (X) – @TerserAdamu

Connect with Esther
LinkedIn – Esther Tumbare and Friendship Bench Zimbabwe

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