Mental health in Nigeria has been a major topic of many conversations. While the rest of the world deals with the issues accordingly, Nigerian officials keep averting their gaze from this problem. This neglect to address the problem with mental health is causing the growth in the number of people suffering from various mental disorders. Why is that so? What is happening to mental health in Nigeria? Find out in this article.
What is mental health?
Before going into detail about mental health in Nigeria, it is useful to remember the definition of the term. Mental health is usually defined as the state of psychological and emotional well-being and the absence of mental disorders.
For the longest time, such mental disorders as anxiety or depression were not considered severe enough for treatment. Usually, only mental states that were dangerous for the individual and their surroundings (like schizophrenia) were treated, although poorly. People with mental illnesses were dehumanized and neglected.
Over time, the importance of mental health became apparent, which is why more and more countries work on implementing new health policies that cover mental health.
In Nigeria, however, the situation is not so bright. There is still a lot of stigma around mental illnesses, so people hesitate before seeking professional help. Apart from that, mental health is not given enough recognition and funding from the government. That makes it almost impossible for people with mental issues to receive help. More on this below.
Nigerian mental health policy
Mental health policy in Nigeria is a big issue for the country. Despite a seemingly adequate 2013 bill on Mental Health Act, the country still operates using the outdated 1991 mental health policy. Even though the existing policy covers promotion, treatment, rehabilitation and advocacy for mental disorders, none of these things properly function.
The bright example of that is that there are still people who believe that mental disorders are the work of the devil. The absence of proper education and advocacy on mental health leads to ignorance and stigma around mental illnesses.
The new policy was meant to provide equal access to mental health care facilities to all Nigerians. It was also supposed to introduce educational programs, protect the rights of the mentally ill and minimize the stigma and discrimination on the grounds of mental disorders.
For more than 13 years, this policy has been lying on some dusty shelf and nobody paid attention to it. Many psychiatrists appealed to Nigerian government with pleas to implement the new policy, but to no avail.
Mental health is not part of primary health care in Nigeria. However, it might even be for the best, as Nigerian primary health care is severely understaffed and underfunded. Nevertheless, less then 3% of budget funds go to mental health facilities. This sum certainly does not cover the necessary expenditures.
Mental health in Nigeria in numbers
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There is very little credible research on mental health in Nigeria. However, the numbers are startling. The latest data available is from WHO’s 2014 Mental Health Atlas. According to that data, the situation with mental health in Nigeria is downright terrifying.
Here is why:
☒ The report states that there are only eight (8!) mental hospitals in Nigeria. And we are talking about a country with more than 180 million people! There are also 36 psychiatric units in regular hospitals, but it is still not nearly enough for such a large population.
☒ For 100,000 people there is less than one mental health worker. This number is absolutely ridiculous compared to, for example, Poland’s 40 mental health workers per 100,000 people and United States’ 125 workers. In addition, most of them lack the necessary qualifications to deal with mental issues.
☒ 100% of all the mental patients were admitted involuntarily. This, to us, seems to be simply outrageous. Also, 100% were staying in the hospitals for less than a year. Many serious mental disorders cannot be remedied in such short terms.
☒ The report also states that, in total, there were 8,640 patients treated for their mental ilnesses. However, many health experts claim that more than 10% of Nigerian population suffer from at least one mental disorder. One of these experts is the Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Yaba, Lagos, Rahman Lawal. Along with many others, he estimates that around 20 million people of Nigeria’s population suffer from mental issues.
As to whether the number of cases of mental illnesses in Nigeria is growing or not, many state that yes, it is indeed growing. This can be said about the whole world, as from 1990 till 2013, the amount of people suffering from mental disorders grew from approximately 416 million to 615 million documented cases.
As we have said before, there is little research on mental health in Nigeria, so it is hard to trace a definite trend. However, the number of people with mental issues have undoubtedly grown, according to Femi Olugbile, who used to be Chief Medical Director of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. Oyewole Adeoye, the National Coordinator of Mental Health Awareness Foundation of Nigeria, has supported this claim.
In conclusion, it is safe to say that the situation with mental health in Nigeria is absolutely drastic. Mental health news are, unfortunately, rather disappointing. Health care delivery system in Nigeria does not work the way it is supposed to. Many people do not have any access to mental health facilities, neither they know much about mental health in general.
Lack of rehabilitation centres in Nigeria, understaffed hospitals that are not able to handle the patients properly and general stigma around the subject of mental illnesses negatively affect people that are in need of qualified help. The number of mentally ill Nigerians is growing and will continue to grow until something is done. We hope that the situation will change in the foreseeable future.
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