SCOPE FELLOWS hIWOT & BROOKE SHARE GLOBAL MENTAL HEALTH WORK AT GLOBAL WACH

We are excited to highlight that SCOPE Fellows Hiwot Weldemariam (2024) and Brooke Erickson (2025) recently presented at the Breakfast with Global WACh lecture series in May 2026. Their presentation showcased their experiences and work as SCOPE Fellows, highlighting the impact of implementation science and global health research in practice.

In the presentation, Hiwot and Brooke shared their work expanding SCOPE's mission into mental health in conflict-affected Ethiopia.

Hiwot conducted formative qualitative research in Gondar, interviewing 31 participants across six stakeholder groups - including parents, youth, faith leaders, and healthcare workers - to document the profound mental health crisis stemming from Ethiopia's ongoing civil war, which has displaced over 5 million people and exposed communities to widespread trauma, gender-based violence, PTSD, depression, and substance misuse.

Building on that foundation, Brooke as a part of her fellowship in Ethiopia, worked to validate a culturally adapted substance use screening tool (the ASSIST) through cognitive interviewing and to pilot a survey on mental health intervention preferences. She found that community members strongly valued faith-based, trust-centered approaches and showed promising openness to an adapted Friendship Bench model.

Together, their work has laid groundwork for a future SCOPE intervention that leverages the organization's long-standing partnerships with Ethiopian Orthodox faith leaders to deliver community-based mental health support to some of the region's most vulnerable populations.

As alumni of the SCOPE Fellowship program, Hiwot and Brooke continue to demonstrate leadership and engagement within the global health community. We are proud and excited to see our fellows sharing their expertise and contributing to conversations that advance maternal, child, and adolescent health initiatives.

View their presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=H7mEYVc9OCz3UDEw&v=OOJU8gTkLBE&feature=youtu.be