The Director of Mental Health at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Tolu Ajomale, has called for stronger strategies and deeper collaboration among stakeholders to improve access to mental healthcare in Nigeria.
Ajomale, who was the guest speaker at the 2025 Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, made the call on Wednesday in Lagos.
The conference had the theme: “Confronting the Surge of Mental Disorders: Enhancing Access to Psychiatric Services in Nigeria.”
Ajomale said more efforts were needed to promote access to quality, equitable and affordable mental health services nationwide.
He noted that the ministry remained open to collaborations, initiatives and innovations that could advance mental healthcare delivery.
According to him, the Lagos State Government has launched and developed several mental health programmes aimed at improving access across the state.
He added that efforts were underway to integrate mental health services into primary healthcare facilities to make care more accessible to communities and rural populations.
“We have been working to enhance access to mental healthcare across the state. Platforms such as lagosmind.org enable people to seek mental healthcare and support.
“We are also planning to develop a Google Map tool for mental health services so that anyone in need can easily locate the nearest available care.
“Efforts are ongoing to fully integrate mental health services into the primary healthcare system for increased access.
“We welcome collaborations; associations like ARD can come up with initiatives and strategies to promote access, and we will not hesitate to support such efforts,” he said.
Also speaking, the Medical Director of the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr. Olugbenga Owoeye, stressed the need to raise awareness about the factors contributing to mental disorders in Nigeria.
Owoeye identified social, environmental and economic factors as major drivers, noting that the current economic hardship and insecurity could worsen mental health conditions among Nigerians.
He said citizens needed to be educated about these risk factors to help them adopt coping mechanisms.
According to him, the Nigerian environment has become a “culture medium” for conditions that heighten the risk of mental illness.
“These include inflation, poverty, insurgency, kidnapping, rape, broken homes, financial problems, traumatic experiences and varying degrees of violence.
“In some cases, people may not even know they are being exposed to conditions that can trigger mental illness. The social and economic crises are indeed taking a toll on the mental well-being of citizens,” he said.
Earlier, ARD President, Dr. Oluwatoba Babarinsa, emphasized the need to integrate mental health services into primary healthcare and other health programmes to expand access.
He said mental health services should be mainstreamed into primary healthcare systems as well as HIV and cancer programmes to ensure wider reach in both urban and rural areas.
Babarinsa also urged all levels of government to address the determinants of mental illness, stressing that “there is no health without mental health.”
