About Us

Who we are

Sangath is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation committed to improving health across the lifespan by empowering existing community resources to provide appropriate physical, psychological and social therapies. Established in 1996, Sangath has been developing and evaluating mental health interventions to be delivered through existing public systems. We aim to develop innovative interventions that are both affordable and effective, to ultimately scale up through sustainable health systems.

What we do

We contribute to public health through path-breaking community-based research and intervention programs that strive to address the pressing mental health treatment gap within the country. We have pioneered a task-shifting strategy that incorporates relatively low-cost human resources, by empowering ordinary people and community health workers, to deliver mental healthcare with appropriate training and supervision from experts.

Sangath was named the 2016 WHO Public Health Champion of India and awarded the 2008 MacArthur Foundation International Prize for Creative and Effective Institutions. Sangath’s research has been cited in 4 recent Lancet series (child development, mental health, adolescent health, universal health care in India) and two World Health Reports (2001 and 2005) as well as influencing research groups and health policy in India, Nepal, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Cambodia, Vietnam, Ethiopia and South Africa.

Team

Abhijit Nadkarni

Lead Investigator

Co-Director, Addictions Research Group, Sangath, India | Associate Professor of Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK