3rd African Diaspora Global Mental Health Conference

18-19 September 2019

The 3rd African Diaspora Global Mental Health Conference took place in Cape Town, South Africa on 18-19 September 2019 at Century City Conference Centre. The conference brought together 43 notable psychiatrists and mental health professionals from all over the world to address ongoing global mental health challenges and to accelerate the development of solutions for Africa and the diaspora. Under the direction of Drs. David Henderson, Professor and Chair of Psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Boston Medical Center, and Dr. Bonga Chiliza, Associate Professor, Chief Specialist & Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the goal of this meeting was to engage in workshops and in-depth discussions on mental health in the four sectors of research, training and education, clinical services, and policy.

The conference began with a keynote address delivered by Dr. Denese Shervington, Chair of Psychiatry at Charles R. Drew University and President of the Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies (IWES). In her presentation entitled ‘Towards a Global Agenda for Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences in People of Color,’ Dr. Shervington touched upon the various sources of trauma that young people of color experience globally. She highlighted the consequences of exposure to community violence, the shared trauma between apartheid and colonialism, and the neurobiological changes that occur due to chronic stress. The keynote address was followed by presentations from various mental health professionals whose work focuses on one of the key domains of the AGMHI. The second day of the conference consisted of breakaway sessions where attendees worked together on developing grant proposals in three key areas: 1) training & education; 2) collaborative research; and 3) scale up of mental health services.