May is Mental Health Awareness Month

May is designated as, “Mental Health Awareness Month”. This is the month that we all need to work at taking away the stigma that is attached to persons that suffer from a mental illness.

When we hear about a person that has a  form of mental illness, we sometimes use harsh words to describe their condition.


“Crazy”,  "Mad", “Loco”, “Nuts” “Bonkers”and “Psycho” are just a few of the words that come to mind that people use freely in everyday conversation to describe a person with a mental illness.

Or, people will make assumptions that a person with a mental illness is dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. These types of behaviors serve to isolate people that are already struggling with the symptoms of a disorder that they have no control over. These types of behaviors also make it less likely that the person that is suffering the symptoms of a mental illness will get treatment.

Hopefully, this month, and every day thereafter, we all can do our part to be more sensitive to how we speak and how we treat our fellow brothers and sisters that want to live their lives as fully as we all do and with dignity.

We got some information on Mental Health in Nigeria from the World Health Organisation.

Read on:

Information on the mental health service in Nigeria is lacking. In this report, we have used the World Health Organization Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) to collect information on the mental health system in the country. The goal of collecting this information is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the system, focusing on resources in the context of the population they are meant to serve.


Essentially, the information contained in this report can provide baseline data required in the identification of specific targets and goals for the development of mental health service in the country. It should also be useful for monitoring progress in implementing reform policies, providing community services, and involving users, families and other stakeholders in mental health promotion, prevention, care and rehabilitation.

Even though the results presented here broadly reflect the national picture, their interpretation however requires caution as the survey was conducted in a few selected states of the country rather than on the entire country. The states, representing about 17% of the national population, were selected from the six geopolitical zones in the country. However, the states, on the whole, may be better resourced than most other states in regard to mental health facilities as within them are located six of the eight federally-funded psychiatric hospitals in the country.
Results
There is considerable neglect of mental health issues in the country. The existing Mental
Health Policy document in Nigeria was formulated in 1991.It was the first policy addressing mental health issues and its components include advocacy, promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Since its formulation, no revision has taken place and no formal assessment of how much it has been implemented has been conducted. Though a list of essential medicines exists, they are not always available at
the health centers. No desk exists in the ministries at any level for mental health issues and only four per cent of government expenditures on health is earmarked for mental health.

All of the seven mental health facilities studied are owned by government. In all these facilities, no beds are set aside for children and adolescents. Many of the admissions to community-based inpatient psychiatric units and mental hospitals are involuntary but there are no extant laws to regulate admission policies and protect patients’ rights.

Presently ninety-five percent of psychiatrists in the surveyed areas work only for
government administered mental health facilities and five percent work only for NGOs,
for profit mental health facilities and private practice.

Though physicians are coordinators of the primary care centers located within local government areas, such centers are run by non-physicians. Physicians in PHCs are allowed to prescribe psychotropic medications without restrictions. Non-physicians working at primary care levels can sometimes prescribe but only in situations of emergency.


Family and patient associations focusing on mental health issues do not exist in the surveyed areas (and possibly in the entire country). The non-governmental organizations in the surveyed areas are generally not involved in individual assistance activities such as counselling, housing, or support groups.

There is no coordinating body to oversee public education and awareness campaigns on mental health and mental disorders. There are no formal structures or provisions for interaction between mental health providers and primary healthcare staff. Also no systematic reporting of information exists for mental health.


In general terms, several countries in Africa are better resourced in regard to mental health personnel. Countries such as South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya have more psychiatrists per 100,000 persons and also higher proportions of psychiatric beds. Many countries in Africa also give better official attention to mental health issues. More recent mental health legislations exist in several and mental health issues are specifically addressed by designated senior bureaucrats.