The wife of Anambra State governor, Mrs Nonye Soludo, has solicited support for people going through mental health challenges, stating that they should be supported and helped to beat the condition and not stigmatized.
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Mrs Soludo stated this when she visited Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Nawfia, Njikoka Local Government Area, of the state to check on the patients who are taking treatments in the facility.
The visit, which is the first to be made by a governor’s wife in history since the the hospital was established, also gave Mrs Soludo the opportunity to interact with the patients, counsel them and encouraged them to heal.
Speaking shortly before touring every section of the hospital with the health commissioner and others, the governor’s wife explained that people fighting mental health challenges are humans and should be supported to defeat the condition.
She noted that, “The increasing number of people dealing with mental health problems calls for speedy intervention, noting that the homes and larger society have a big role to play in tackling drug use, cultism and other decadent behaviours that can push children and youths into drugs.”
Mrs Soludo also re-echoed her call for reassessment of basic family traditions, including the immediate revival of communal child upbringing model, which seems to have been abandoned, at the detriment of the society.
She also spoke about monitoring early signs of a child’s suspicious behaviour and asked parents to prioritize being close to their children to know when they have derailed.
In her chats with the patients, the governor’s wife urged them to remain strong through their recovery processes, while she encouraged those whose conditions were traced to drug abuse to learn from the results, and help others who are into the same behaviours to change.
She promised that when they have recovered, they will play an important role in healthy living education on the dangers of substance use, using their personal experience.
