The World Health Organisation (WHO) is to train 70 primary healthcare
workers under the Borno state mental health gap action programme
intervention (mhGAP-IG).
Mental health strategic framework, is being implemented between 2019
and 2021 to address mental disorders and psychological problems among
650, 000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in camps and host
communities of Northeast.
The decade long Boko Haram insurgency, has affected Borno, Adamawa and
Yobe states with destruction of 37,000 lives and property worth $9
billion (N3.42 trillion).
WHO’s representative in Nigeria, Dr. Clement Lasuba; disclosed this
Monday in a released three-year report titled: “3 years of grade 3:
Health Emergencies in North-East Nigeria.”
He said after training workers, they are to manage over 750 inpatients
for a month, while over 1, 300 received outpatient treatment and
follow up care.
He further disclosed that 2, 500 mental health patients were referred
to Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri between October 2017
and October 2018.
He said during the same period, there were consultation of over 44,
000 patients during 1,960 mental health sessions.
“There were also provisions of specialized mental health care at
primary health care level with strong referral linkage to the Federal
Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri.
Dr. Lasuba listed the challenges of delivering mental healthcare
services to include inadequate mental health specialists in region,
lack of funding and rehabilitation support for patients that stopped
drug and substance abuse.
While lamenting on very low mental healthcare services, he said:
“There were no funds for the expansion of mental health programmes in
Adamawa and Yobe states.”
The former WHO representative, Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu also said in
the report that; “In a humanitarian crisis, mental health is often
neglected because the focus is on saving lives due to preventable
infections and malaria.
“But WHO has made mental healthcare one of its top priorities in
north-eastern Nigeria.”
