The Federal Government has concluded plans to establish mental health clinics in each senatorial zone in South East for better service delivery, an official has said.
The Medical Director, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu (FNHE), Dr Jojo Onwukwe, disclosed this at a one-day South East Zonal Meeting on Mental Health held in Owerri on Thursday.
He said the initiative would be funded by the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with the FNHE and Okparavero Memorial Hospital, Sapele.
He said the move was to ensure that people living in the South East have access to good mental healthcare services.
Onwukwe, who identified the mental health vulnerable group to include children under age five, pregnant women and the elderly, said the programme would review the unmet need for mental health services, share experiences and review public health in the zone.
He said the clinics would protect families from the huge financial hardship travelling to Enugu as well as ensure equitable distribution of drugs, infrastructure and mental health services in all levels of healthcare.
Speaking, Dr Ejike Oji, Consultant for Mental Advocacy and Awareness Programme, said the mental clinics would improve and harness private sector participation in mental health services.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes Oji as saying that the programme would focus on awareness creation, advocacy and mobilisation.
According to him, increasing the level of awareness about the scheme would enable majority of Nigerians living in the South East access the benefits of the scheme.
“Awareness for mental health services has been assessed as a need. It will enhance advocacy efforts for government and key stakeholders to support the scheme.
“It will also pilot the use of new technology and training to optimise the performance of providers for better service delivery,” he said.
Prof. Pauline Otih, a professor in Medical Sociology and an International Development Consultant, pointed out that mental issues are as a result of social factors as such should be viewed within a social context.
She expressed concern that mental health is not being highlighted in Nigerian health issues and advised that stigmatisation of people with mental issues be stopped.
According to Otih, good mental health is fundamental to ensuring good physical wellbeing for the people.
The Medical Director of Okparavero Memorial Hospital, Sapele, Dr Chijioke Kaduru, had earlier observed that mental health, though a major issue in Nigeria is often not given due attention.
He noted that mental health is completely excluded from key health sector documents and still underfunded.
Kaduru explained that a 2014 study indicated that one out of three patients at a general hospital had co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis, mostly unrecognised by their physicians.
Another study in 2015, he said, showed that one out of two patients presented at a Nigerian primary healthcare setting had significant depression symptoms.
He expressed concern at the stigmatisation and negative attitude towards people with mental health problems as well as cultural, religious and mental health literacy constraints which he said posed a barrier for people with mental health problems accessing formal health care.
Kaduru, therefore, called on stakeholders and government to scale up funding for psychiatric care and management subsector in the country’s healthcare delivery system. (NAN)