Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the SMART Africa Center (Strengthening Mental health And Research Training) is an African regional trans-disciplinary collaborative center aimed at reducing gaps in child and adolescent mental health services and research in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda through a population approach to child mental health.
Our Mission
The mission of the SMART Africa Center is to reduce gaps in child and adolescent mental health services and research in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) through a population approach to child mental health.
SMART Africa Center is one of the very first child mental health implementation research partnerships set in SSA. Housed within Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, and with initial projects in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda, SMART Africa advances its mission through:
- Conducting innovative intervention and implementation research focused on child behavioral health
- Establishing and expanding a trans-disciplinary research consortium
- Strengthening research capacity in SSA
- Informing public policy and programming
Capacity Building
In their recently edited textbook, WashU faculty researchers, in collaboration with several authors from Sub-Saharan Africa examine an evidence-based, culturally appropriate child and adolescent behavioral health research from Sub-Saharan Africa.
