Experts advocate increased investment in mental health

On Oct 4, 2023

Some mental health practitioners have called on the Federal Government to increase its investment and funding on mental health service delivery to promote the well-being of citizens. In separate interviews with the Newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos, the medical experts noted that stable mental well-being was key to the overall good health of citizens.

According to them, stable mental for citizens is very necessary to ensure their optimal performance and contribution to the nation’s economic growth and development.

Dr Taiwo Obindo, President, Association of Psychiatrists of Nigeria (APN), urged the government to increase the budgetary allocation to health sector, and by extension to the mental health subsector.

Obindo said that it was only about five per cent of the budget allocation to health sector that goes to mental health, which he said was far below the WHO stipulate figure of 15 per cent.

Obindo also urged the government to intensify efforts toward implementation of the Mental Health Act by establishing a mental health funding department as enshrined in the Act.

“Mental health needed to be given the seriousness it deserved by government, individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Let the government increase investment in mental health, subsidise the treatment of mental illness, establish more psychiatric hospitals and implement contents of the Mental Health Act. These would go a long way to improve mental health services, increase access to treatment and prevent mental cases from degenerating and becoming difficult to treat or manage,” he said.

Also, a professor of Psychiatry, Taiwo Sheikh, called for the integration of mental healthcare services in the primary healthcare to increase people’s access to the services at grassroot.

Sheikh, said that psychiatric hospitals were mostly situated in the cities, while most mental health cases occur in the rural areas.

According to him, mental health services are barely accessible outside the state capitals, saying there is urgent need to establish mental healthcare facilities at the grassroots to enable the rural communities easily access the services.

He said: “Most mental health cases happen in rural communities where there are no mental healthcare facilities/psychiatric hospitals and that is why people will resort to taking the victims to prayer houses where the situation would be allowed to get complicated. If mental health is integrated to the primary healthcare, local government healthcare; more people, particularly, in the rural areas will easily access it.”

Sheikh also called for the implementation of Nigeria National Mental Healthcare Policy, which was adopted by the Federal Government in 2013.

“The policy seeks to go beyond treatment or cure of mental health patients to activities and programmes of mental well-being promotions, mental illness prevention and universal access to mental healthcare,” he added.

NAN/Wumi