Horn of Africa Knowledge Sharing Dialogue - Mental Health

This knowledge sharing dialogue was co-hosted by Belt of Somali Women, Somaliland Family Health Association, Silver Lining Kenya, and Orchid Project, and forms part of a dialogue series to share knowledge across disciplines and contexts within the Horn of Africa. Presentations were given by Dr. Suaad Abdulrehman, a medical doctor with a specialisation in psychiatry working with Somali FGM/C survivors in the Netherlands as part of her medical practice, and from Benazir Mohamed, Founder and Executive Director of Silver Lining Kenya, who provide community-based mental health supports for survivors of FGM/C in Kenya. 

Dialogue and discussion focused on opportunities to support mental health needs of FGM/C survivors and included trauma-informed safe spaces, multi-disciplinary approaches, and integration within healthcare to support identification of mental health needs among survivors.