BasicNeeds
A UK-founded international mental-health and development NGO, founded in 2000, whose model of combining community mental-health treatment with livelihoods support was documented in a peer-reviewed Nepal case study before it merged into CBM UK in 2017 after a funding shortfall.
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- Established
- 1999-11-18
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Founder
- Chris Underhill MBE
- Legal status
- Registered England charity no. 1079599; status now shown as "Removed charity" following its 2017 merger
- Model
- "BasicNeeds Mental Health and Development Model" — combines community-based mental-health treatment access, livelihoods support, stigma reduction and health-worker trainingstated by the subject
- Merger
- Merged into CBM UK, 20 July 2017, after a funding shortfall (BasicNeeds' income was roughly £1.6M versus CBM UK's £6M)
Overview
BasicNeeds was a UK-founded international NGO working on mental health and epilepsy in the context of poverty and development. The UK Charity Commission’s record shows it was founded by Chris Underhill MBE via a Declaration of Trust made on 18 November 1999 (UK Charity Commission). Its model combined access to community-based mental-health treatment with livelihoods support, stigma reduction and health-worker training — an approach documented in a 2012 peer-reviewed case study of its Nepal program in the academic journal PLOS Medicine (PLOS Medicine). It operated in multiple countries across several continents at various points in its history.
Merger into CBM UK
On 20 July 2017, BasicNeeds merged into CBM UK, a larger UK disability charity, after failing to secure sufficient funding — its annual income of roughly £1.6 million compared with CBM UK’s approximately £6 million. Some UK-based jobs were cut in the merger, though overseas program staff were retained, and BasicNeeds’ chief executive, Adrian Sell, moved into CBM UK’s leadership (Third Sector). BasicNeeds is no longer registered as an independent charity; its programs continue as a network under CBM UK.
Timeline
- 1999-11-18
- Founded by Chris Underhill MBE; the UK Charity Commission's record shows the Declaration of Trust establishing BasicNeeds was made on 18 November 1999.
- 2012
- Its mental-health-and-development model, applied in Nepal, is documented in a peer-reviewed case study in the academic journal PLOS Medicine.
- 2017-07-20
- Merges into CBM UK, a larger UK disability charity, after failing to secure sufficient funding; some UK-based jobs are cut, though overseas program staff are retained.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- The organization's claimed lifetime reach ("650,000," "700,000+," "half a million," "85,308 in China") varies across its own and its successor's materials and is not independently verified; not stated as a single fact here.
Sources
3 sources (3 tier 1), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Sourced to an independent UK charity-sector trade publication, the UK Charity Commission's public register, and a peer-reviewed academic case study — all opened and read directly. Because it works in mental health, the organization's own claimed reach figures (which vary across its own materials, from roughly 85,000 to 700,000+ people) are presented as the organization's own claims rather than independently verified fact.
- BasicNeeds merged into Christian disability charity Supports: The 2017 merger date, comparative income figures, staffing impact, and the funding-shortfall rationale, with a quote from CEO Adrian Sell.
- Charity 1079599 — BasicNeeds (governing document) Supports: Legal registration, founding trust document dates, and current "removed" charity status.
- Integrating Mental Health and Development: A Case Study of the BasicNeeds Model in Nepal Supports: Independent, peer-reviewed academic documentation of the BasicNeeds model as applied in Nepal.
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