The Nigeria-American Institute for Mental Health (NAIMH) will train healthcare workers on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Mental Health Gap Action Programme (MH-GAP) guidelines in Nigeria.
The institute’s Secretary, Board of Trustees, Dr Azubuike Aliche, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.
MH-GAP is aimed at scaling up services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders, especially for low- and middle-income earners.
Aliche stated that the first phase of the training, scheduled for 2025 and covering one year, would be conducted in Abia, Anambra and Enugu states, while the second phase would be held in Ebonyi and Imo.
According to him, the training is for primary health extension workers, social workers, nurses, schoolteachers, hospital staff and others in local communities to be able to identify symptoms of certain mental health conditions.
They will also be trained in managing the symptoms and/or refer serious cases to professional mental health providers, he said.
He added that “the goal of the training is the treatment of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, suicide ideation and substance use disorders.
“Under the programme, master trainers will be trained who, in turn, will train non-mental health professionals at the local community levels.”
Aliche said that 25 master trainers would be trained and for each of the states to benefit from the programme, 150 community health workers and others would be trained in each of the five local governments in the states where it would take place.
He also said that training staff would include coordinators, programme monitoring and evaluation officers, programme assistants and master trainers and that the training would be conducted onsite and virtually, using the WHO MH-GAP training guide/manual.
“As part of the training programme, ancillary services will be planned for, as part of adapting the MH-GAP programme to the Nigerian environment.
“These will include support services and programmes aimed at creating awareness in local communities and beyond.
“Others will involve measures designed to increase the number and quality of other mental healthcare providers/practitioners to care for the emotional health of the people in the communities in which we operate,” he stated.
On the objectives of the organisation, Aliche said it aims to close the disparity between mental health services and psychoeducation in Nigeria and forge partnerships with individuals, organisations and agencies to create a viable path of support.
This will be through education and increased availability of effective professionals who are skilled in the field of mental health.
“We are committed to creating programmes and services to address issues of mental illness, dismantle stigma around mental health and the general psychological wellbeing of many Nigerians.”
NAIMH is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) aimed at developing manpower and programmes of education, research and other activities for the expansion of mental healthcare in Nigeria.
NAN
