Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health partners with IACAPAP to expand Clinical Fellowship into Beira, Mozambique
New York, USA – The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute and the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP), announce the third cohort of Clinical Fellows in Mozambique. Our strategic expansion into Beira, the capital of Sofala Province in Central Mozambique, is particularly significant. The coastal city recently welcomed a new era of healthcare with the opening of the Beira General Hospital in 2024 — one of the largest in the country.
Developed through a partnership with the MISAU – Ministerio de Saude (Mozambique Ministry of Health), the Clinical Fellowship reflects the government’s important commitment to expanding quality mental health services for children nationwide. The Clinical Fellowship began in 2024 as a multi-year joint commitment, with the below listed third cohort expected to complete the program in 2028.
The three new Clinical Fellows from Beira include:
- Domingas Ferrão, MD, psychiatrist, Beira Central Hospital
- Josefina Sambane, clinical psychologist, Beira Central Hospital
- Esmeralda Manjate, occupational therapist, Beira Central Hospital
They will spend one year in clinical training in Brazil at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), under the supervision of leading clinicians, before returning to Mozambique to put the training into action. Fellows also receive funding to support their clinical training, career development, and ongoing work as both practitioners and educators.
By building specialized clinical capacity in this key regional area, the SNF Global Center Fellowships Program continues to work collaboratively toward strengthening existing mental health systems. The Fellows’ essential skills are vital in supporting the young people and communities who continue to navigate complex mental health challenges, including those resulting from climate effects, displacement, socioeconomic factors, and limited access to appropriate care.
“This fellowship represents hope for more care and dignity for children and adolescents in Mozambique,” says Dr. Ferrão. “Being part of this program means believing that change begins when you invest in people and in strengthening local capacities.”
With 16 years of medical experience, Dr. Ferrão works as a psychiatrist at Beira Central Hospital. Her primary research interests include the study of suicidal behavior and the development of strategies for suicide prevention among adolescents.
Prior to the first cohort of SNF Global Center Fellows in Mozambique, there was only one child and adolescent child psychiatrist in Mozambique — Helena Daniel, MD, PhD, who serves as the fellow mentor. This is in contrast to the approximately 16 million children in Mozambique. Alongside local partners, the SNF Global Center is helpingto train nine child and adolescent mental health specialists actively making an impact across the country’s most underserved communities.
“This fellowship symbolizes the possibility of transforming challenges into concrete solutions for child mental health in Mozambique,” Josefina Sambane says. “I hope to acquire tools that will allow me to train professionals and create support networks that ensure the emotional well-being of our children and adolescents in Sofala Province.”
With more than 15 years of experience in mental health care and education in Mozambique, Sambane leads the Center for Child and Adolescent Psychological Rehabilitation (CERPIJ) at Beira Central Hospital. Her research interests include child psychology, school and community-based mental health, and suicide prevention.
While also reflecting on the program’s impact, Esmeralda Manjate shares how the experience of stepping into a role as an agent of change for young people in her community can create lasting change.
“I am looking forward to strengthening my professional skills to act with greater purpose, reinforcing my response to the occupational needs of children and adolescents affected by various medical and mental health conditions in Mozambique,” says Manjate, who currently works at the Beira Central Hospital where she also provides therapeutic assessment and intervention for young people with mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions.
She aspires to continue contributing to clinical research and advancing therapeutic services for children and adolescents in her country.
As the Mozambique country manager for the SNF Global Center Clinical Fellowship Program, Lidia Gouveia, MD, PhD, emphasizes this historic achievement for Mozambique and the city of Beira, specifically. She notes how the program directly targets the region’s most pressing workforce challenges while creating sustainable clinical capacity intended to benefit generations of young people.
“The city of Beira is the capital of Sofala — a province that was the stage of the 16-year civil war and lies in the main cyclone corridor of our country. This means it is a city with a large number of people displaced by war or natural disasters, most of whom are children, adolescents, and young people,” Dr. Gouveia explains. “We strongly believe that these professionals will make a significant contribution to improving mental health care for this population.”
Through the SNF Global Center at the Child Mind Institute’s leadership position in transforming child and adolescent mental health, as well as collaborative partnerships with local governments and educational institutions, quality care is enhanced and existing systems are strengthened.
“We’ve established a transformative partnership with Mozambique’s government to continue to train clinicians with deep cultural competency — professionals equipped to implement evidence-based youth mental health care,” says Peter Raucci, director of Global Fellowships Strategy at the SNF Global Center at the Child Mind Institute. “By combining specialized training, funding, and structured mentorship, we can shift how mental health care is understood, delivered, and integrated into existing health systems.”
Dr. Helena Daniel, MD, PHD, who previously trained at HCPA, says introducing the third cohort of Clinical Fellows is a significant moment to celebrate. She plays a key role in supporting the essential infrastructure of a comprehensive child and adolescent mental health system.
“This fellowship represents a significant step forward in the training of mental health professionals, enhancing excellence in care and challenging contexts characterized by a shortage of human resources,” Dr. Daniel adds. “It creates a multiplier effect capable of positively impacting mental health across the country.”
Learn more about the impact of our fellowships and explore how strategic partnerships in low- and middle-income countries can create new pathways for specialized care through evidence-based approaches and authentic collaboration on the SNF Global Center’s Global Fellowship page.
About IACAPAP
The International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) date its origin back to 1937 in Paris, France. Initially named the International Committee of Child Psychiatrists, it was renamed IACPAP in 1948 incorporating allied professions, and in 1978 adolescent psychiatry was added to form IACAPAP. IACAPAP’s mission is to advocate for the promotion of the mental health and development of children and adolescents through policy, practice and research.
About the SNF Global Center at the Child Mind Institute
The SNF Global Center brings together the Child Mind Institute’s expertise as a leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)’s deep commitment to supporting collaborative projects to improve access to quality health care worldwide. The center is building partnerships to drive advances in under-researched areas of children and adolescents’ mental health, and expand access to culturally appropriate training, resources, and treatment in low- and middle-income countries. This work is conducted by the Child Mind Institute with support from SNF through its Global Health Initiative (GHI).
About the Child Mind Institute
The Child Mind Institute is dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need. We’ve become the leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health by providing gold-standard, evidence-based care, delivering educational resources to millions of families each year, training educators in underserved communities, and developing tomorrow’s breakthrough treatments.
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