Nigeria: Mental Health Crisis - Fewer Than 300 Psychiatrists Serve Over 200m Nigerians - - Sheikh
[Vanguard] A Professor of Psychiatry at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. Taiwo Lateef Sheikh, has said that Nigeria is facing a deepening mental health crisis, with fewer than 300 psychiatrists available to serve a population of over 200 million people.
Nigeria confronts a pressing mental health crisis, with only a few hundred psychiatrists serving a population of over 200 million people, according to Professor Taiwo Lateef Sheikh. Sheikh, a professor of psychiatry and member of the Africa CDC Advisory Committee, highlighted the shortage, inadequate funding, and poor access to community-based services as exacerbating the gap between those in need of mental healthcare and those receiving it.
He urged for the urgent implementation of the Mental Health Act and stronger policy, financing, and legislative reforms to bolster Nigeria's mental health system. Sheikh emphasized that mental health remains one of the most neglected areas of healthcare in Africa, yet its impact on individuals, families, communities, and national economies is profound.
He pointed out that Nigeria's Mental Health Act, enacted in 2022, is a significant step but insufficient without adequate funding, trained personnel, functional services, and effective implementation. The shortage of mental health professionals, particularly psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and other specialists, is a critical issue, with many trained nurses being diverted from mental health duties.
Poor financing, with mental health receiving less than 3.5% of the health budget, and inadequate community-based services further compound the problem. Sheikh advocated for a decentralized mental health system, integrating mental healthcare into primary healthcare and adopting task-shifting, where trained nurses and community health workers provide mental health services under supervision.
He stressed that treating conditions like depression at the primary healthcare level could be feasible with appropriate training and supervision. Sheikh warned that neglecting mental health could hinder Nigeria's economic and social development, citing the significant costs of untreated mental health conditions on individuals, families, workplaces, and governments.
He emphasized that mental health is integral to healthcare, education, and labor, and neglecting it could compromise Africa's economic progress. Sheikh called for mental health integration into various sectors and stronger suicide prevention strategies, anti-stigma programs, and measures to protect the rights of those with mental health conditions.
He affirmed that the Mental Health Act is a crucial achievement, but its real impact depends on effective implementation, sustainable financing, stronger governance, adequate human resources, essential medicines, and technologies, and robust monitoring of implementation.
Written by urgent.news from AllAfrica Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
