The World Health Organisation (WHO) Northeast Emergency Manager, Dr.
Collins Owili has said with prevalence of mental illness among 24.5
million Nigerians, 650, 000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) may
suffer from mental disorder.
The decade long conflict; has affected Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states;
with the destruction of over 37,000 lives and $9 billion (N3.42
trillion) worth of property.
Owili raised the alarm in 2016-2019 WHO Omnibus Report; released
Sunday to journalists in Maiduguri, Borno state.
He said despite upsurge in mental disorders caused by insurgency, the
Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri, is the only
‘specialized mental health institution’ in Northeast.
“This is even more worrisome in the emergency context of the region
with very few mental health professionals,” said the report, stating
that there is high incident rate of gender-based violence.
According to Dr. Owili, presently, only 18 per cent of the fully or
partially functioning health centres in Borno state provide integrated
clinical management services for survivors of violence.
On prevalence and rise of mental disorder, the report said: “WHO
estimates that as many as 1 every 5 IDPs may need mental health care
in emergencies.
“In the case in northeast-Nigeria, the rate of common mental disorders
can double due to gender based violence, abduction and gross
atrocities.
He said that these could trigger psychological problems which take
years to heal, while living in IDP camps and host communities.
He said this prompted WHO to collaborate with the Office of U.S
Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), Nigerian Humanitarian Fund (NHF)
and Maiduguri Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital develops: “The 2019-2021
Borno state mental health strategic frameworks.”
He disclosed that the framework will provided mental health care
services at primary healthcare level, while the capacity of non-mental
health specialists be built on Mental Health Gap Action Programme
Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG).
