What is Brain Health?
Brain health involves keeping the brain healthy to allow people to reach their potential and live well, irrespective of age or any health conditions they may have. There are different ways of thinking about and supporting brain health depending on experiences, field of interest, priorities, and focus areas.
Our Focus Areas
The Africa Brain Health Network envisions supporting brain health through education, research, and community collaboration. Our focus areas are:
Promoting brain health across the life course
Addressing preventable and treatable conditions
Advancing equity in access to care and services
Who Are We
We are a Pan-African and global community passionate about equitable approaches to support brain health.
We are inspired by leaders who achieved the seemingly impossible like:
President Thomas Sankara who transformed his country from being food insecure to having a food surplus within five years.
Nobel laureate Wangari Mathai who with small, practical and strategic steps started a green movement that continues to inspire globally.
President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela who showed us how to look at our diversity, friction, disagreement, and agreement as an opportunity for growth and transformation
OUR VALUES
Ubuntu
Prioritises our interconnectedness with respect, dignity, and accountability
Sankofa
Inspires critical engagement with the past to create the future
Pluralism
Recognises the validity, relevance of and need for diverse points of view
Adaptability
Emphasises the ability to adjust and thrive with changing circumstances
Harmony
Rooted in synchrony, balance, and beauty
What We Do
We connect people across disciplines, cultures, communities, and knowledge systems to shape a more inclusive and impactful approach to brain health in Africa.
Through deep, collaborative dialogue, we:
- Explore challenges, opportunities and priorities
- Reflect on resources required and available
- Create space for new ideas and diverse perspectives
We aim to co-create solutions that are relevant, equitable, and sustainable.
Envisioning the Future
We remain committed to building this multidisciplinary network, contributing to the development of a knowledge resource, prioritising community needs, and creating opportunities for members and partners.
Become A Member
The Africa Brain Health Network (ABHN) welcomes global members.  We invite individuals working in brain health, mental wellness, healthy ageing, global health, public health, health-related fields, community empowerment, indigenous or traditional knowledge, and arts and culture. Join us to shape the future of brain health.
Become A Partner
We’re building partnerships with organisations committed to brain health, wellbeing, and equity. Whether through research, co-creation, funding, or community collaboration, your support can help shape innovative solutions across Africa and beyond.Â
Become A Member
The Africa Brain Health Network (ABHN) welcomes global members.  We invite individuals working in brain health, mental wellness, healthy ageing, global health, public health, health-related fields, community empowerment, indigenous or traditional knowledge, and arts and culture. Join us to shape the future of brain health.
Become A Partner
We’re building partnerships with organisations committed to brain health, wellbeing, and equity. Whether through research, co-creation, funding, or community collaboration, your support can help shape innovative solutions across Africa and beyond.Â
Our Team
Mohammed-Anwar Sadat Adam
Co-Lead: Governance
Khalil Goga
Co-lead: Capacity building
Sinethemba Makanya
Co-lead: Knowledge systems
Senior Lecturer (Art Therapy, University of Johannesburg) | Inyanga
Kirti Ranchod
Co-lead: Strategy
Neurologist | Global Atlantic Fellow | Founder: Memorability
Rayne Stroebel
Co-lead: Engagement
Managing Director (Geratec) | GerontologistÂ
Brain Health Resources
Indigenous Knowledge and Health
Indigenous knowledge systems offer holistic, culturally rooted approaches to health, healing, and community well-being.
African Values and Systems for our Collective Future
ABHN envisions brain health equity across Africa, grounded in Ubuntu, resilience, and collective care.
Looking Ahead: Our Welcome Note to the ABHN Futurist Session (January 2025)
ABHN envisions a future of brain health shaped by equity, tradition, technology, and collective imagination.