Excellent paper! One important factor in LMIC mental health work is sustainability. Take helplines. Far as I know, they are locally funded in poor countries, yet there are very few of them. A foreign NGO or individual could have an extremely high impact founding a helpline in a location, turning the fundraising and operation over to the local community once it gets going, and then repeating the process in subsequent cities. Dependency on foreign donors is always a last resort. The absolute cost of running a helpline is less important than the ability of the local community to support it on their own once it’s set up, although startup costs are major consideration.
Also, rather than trying to extrapolate the cost of running a helpline in Africa using Australian data, I think it would be more accurate to just call one up and ask them. Or call Befrienders International, they should know. I’m sure they’d be thrilled to hear from you!
I agree that helplines could have a very high impact. It’s not mentioned in the paper, but we did look into it—we weren’t able to find an organization that we had enough confidence in to recommend. Could be an interesting challenge for an EA social entrepreneur or philanthropist to take on, though!
Excellent paper! One important factor in LMIC mental health work is sustainability. Take helplines. Far as I know, they are locally funded in poor countries, yet there are very few of them. A foreign NGO or individual could have an extremely high impact founding a helpline in a location, turning the fundraising and operation over to the local community once it gets going, and then repeating the process in subsequent cities. Dependency on foreign donors is always a last resort. The absolute cost of running a helpline is less important than the ability of the local community to support it on their own once it’s set up, although startup costs are major consideration.
Also, rather than trying to extrapolate the cost of running a helpline in Africa using Australian data, I think it would be more accurate to just call one up and ask them. Or call Befrienders International, they should know. I’m sure they’d be thrilled to hear from you!
I agree that helplines could have a very high impact. It’s not mentioned in the paper, but we did look into it—we weren’t able to find an organization that we had enough confidence in to recommend. Could be an interesting challenge for an EA social entrepreneur or philanthropist to take on, though!