Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, says the state has integrated mental health services into its primary and secondary healthcare systems to expand access to mental healthcare.
The governor disclosed this during the 2026 World Mental Health Day celebration at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Barnawa, Kaduna.
Represented by the Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Umma Ahmad, Governor Sani explained that the state had trained and certified 100 doctors, nurses and pharmacists from 10 general hospitals under the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP).
He added that mental health screening had been incorporated into routine maternal and child health services, with plans to extend services to all 30 general hospitals and primary healthcare facilities across the state’s 23 local government areas.
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Sani noted that the initiative was designed to provide accessible, evidence-based and rights-focused mental healthcare while strengthening collaboration between federal and state health institutions.
He also commended the Medical Director of the hospital, Professor Aishatu Yusha’u Armiya’u, for her contributions to healthcare delivery in Kaduna State.
The governor highlighted the hospital’s newly launched telepsychiatry programme, which enables patients in remote communities to access mental health services and allows specialists to support healthcare workers at primary and secondary healthcare facilities.
In her remarks, Professor Armiya’u called for collective responsibility in promoting mental health, urging people to support family members, friends and colleagues, listen to those in distress and seek professional help when necessary.
She commended the Kaduna State Government for enacting the Kaduna State Mental Health Law in September 2025, describing it as an important step towards protecting the rights and dignity of people living with mental health conditions.
The medical director further disclosed that the hospital had collaborated with the Kaduna State Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (KADSAMHSA) to train and certify multidisciplinary healthcare workers from primary healthcare centres across the state’s 23 local government areas under the WHO’s mhGAP programme.
