A consultant neuropsychiatrist, and Medical Director of Pinnacle Medical Services in Lagos, Dr. Maymunah Kadiri has called on governments at all levels, to pay attention to mental health of citizens.
Kadiri said this could be achieved by ensuring the availability of quality mental health facilities and services across the country.
According to her, “There is a need for serious investments in mental health care because we have seen that when it is not taken care of and a crisis hits, people are really affected.”
He decried the poor state of the few existing psychiatric hospitals and facilities and urged the government at all levels to intensify their efforts toward establishing more psychiatric hospitals across the country.
“When you look at mental health programming within Nigeria, traditionally, like anywhere else in the world, it has been poorly funded over the years.
“Most states in the country do not have a functional psychiatric hospital, while our few existing psychiatric hospitals are dilapidated, and we have very few specialized cadres.
“The governments should pay attention to the mental health of the citizens with a view to ensuring the availability of quality mental health facilities and services,” she said.
Kadiri said that the establishment of more psychiatric hospitals had become necessary due to the increasing cases of mental health conditions in the country, as the available mental health facilities were inadequate to cater for the rising cases.
She attributed the rising cases of mental health conditions to drug abuse, stress, the economic downturn, unemployment, insecurity, inadequate finances, and depression, among others.
She lamented that the majority of the health care institutions in the country paid less attention to mental health cases.
According to her, mental health services are barely accessible outside the state capitals, adding that there is an urgent need to establish mental healthcare facilities at the grassroots.
She emphasized that the three tiers of government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector should really consider mental health as a priority.
She said, “There are fewer mental health services relative to other health care services.
“Look around; we have over 50 government hospitals looking after pregnant women. We have thousands of private hospitals and maternal homes for women and children.
“But how many mental health facilities are there in Nigeria, with a population of over 217 million people? There are very few; even most states in the country do not have a functional psychiatric hospital.
“The truth is that the government may not be able to do enough to tackle the menace of mental health.
“While the government is doing what it can, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and individuals must come together to address the treatment gap in mental health and provide facilities for those who need treatment before they fall into the wrong hands.”
According to her, it is critical that people living with mental health conditions have continued access to treatment and care.
“A failure to take a citizen’s mental and emotional wellbeing seriously will lead to long-term social and economic costs to society,” Kadiri said.
