Psychotic disorders remain under-researched and under-resourced across Africa, despite evidence that between 1% and 4.4% of people on the continent may experience psychosis during their lifetime – but a newly launched network, recently hosted by Stellenbosch University, now plans to change this.
While important research efforts into psychosis have been made, these are largely fragmented and disconnected, said Stellenbosch University Professor Laila Asmal. The recent inaugural meeting of the Africa Psychosis Research Network (APRN), hosted by the facility’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), she said, hopes to change this.
The meeting was attended by 35 participants representing South Africa, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and partner institutions in the United Kingdom, and included both researchers and people with lived experience of psychosis.
Psychosis refers to experiences in which a person’s perceptions, thoughts, or understanding of the world shift in a way that feel very real to them, such as hearing voices or holding beliefs not shared by others. It is treatable, and many people recover with appropriate support.
“Currently, there is no dedicated, inclusive, Africa-led platform to co-ordinate efforts, foster collaboration, and advocate for sustainable research funding in this field,” said Asmal, who is also a psychiatrist at Tygerberg Hospital.
The successful meeting marked the first continent-wide gathering focused specifically on strengthening psychosis research collaboration in Africa, she added. The APRN aims to work towards a shared vision for psychosis research on the continent that is “collaborative, sustainable and impactful”.
Delegates also discussed how to lay the groundwork for a sustainable research network that places the priorities of people with lived experience of psychosis at its centre.
Asmal added that delegates reached a shared commitment to establishing APRN as a long-term, credible, inclusive, and collaborative African network for psychosis research, grounded in Africentric values and collaborative decision-making.
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