Shabani Miraji Shabani

Second cohort of the African Fellowships for Research in Indigenous and Alternative Knowledges / Deuxième cohorte du programme de Bourses africaines pour la recherche sur les savoirs autochtones et alternatifs (AFRIAK) .

Affliation: Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA) under the Prime Minister’s Office, Tanzania

Discipline: Education in Psychology

Country / Pays: Tanzania

Project Title / Titre du projet: Community Based Indigenous Knowledge Practices in Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Prevention in Tanzania: Exploring Local Methods of Knowing, Coping, and Collective Responsibility

Biographie / Biography: I currently work as a Prevention Specialist and Social Psychologist at the Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA) under the Prime Minister’s Office in Tanzania. My responsibilities include designing, coordinating, and implementing prevention programmes focused on substance use, mental health, and psychosocial wellbeing among youth and young people. I contribute to national prevention strategies, develop training materials, and support community-based interventions that are grounded in local realities.
In addition, I serve as a Youth and Student Leader with the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP), where I support youth engagement, capacity-building, and professional development initiatives at national and regional levels. I am also the Universal Prevention Curriculum (UPC) Coordinator under the Colombo Plan, responsible for coordinating training activities, supporting facilitators, and aligning prevention education with African contexts.
Furthermore, I act as a Technical Advisor for the Focus on Youth, Not the Substance project funded by Fondation Botnar, providing guidance on youth centred, culturally responsive prevention approaches. Alongside my professional work, I am pursuing postgraduate studies to strengthen the research foundations of my practice.