I remember waking up at crack of
dawn, still feeling giddy and barely unable to keep my eyes open. I walk
towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast, holding my transistor radio ( I have
this ritual of listening to radio, trust me, radio is a great companion for
typical Hausa-Fulani folks, especially herdsmen from Northern Nigeria; I am
proud to share that heritage). I tuned to my favorite stations in excitement
despite being shaken by the early morning cold, the news headlines and heated
commentaries make me come alive.
I did not see this
heart-wrenching news item coming; "26 Young Nigerian Women Found Dead in
Mediterranean Sea"-their bodies were found floating by the Spanish
Navy on Friday. The suspicion was that they were sexually abused and murdered. The Italian media
reports that their estimated ages is 14-18; “It is a tragedy for
mankind”-Salvatore Malfi, prefect port city Salerno, where the bodies
in the central Mediterranean. Would you like to know the reaction of
the Nigerian government? Wait for it, you will find it
interesting.
I fell into a state of despondency after hearing this: “For Nigerian girls, it is pretty standard, the issue of being trafficked, It is a regional network, unfortunately. I have seen younger than 14, and they were alone and from Nigeria.”-MarcoRotunn; UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Italy.
The remarks of the
deputy Senate President, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, caught my attention; “Government owed citizens of Nigeria the responsibility to provide the basic needs of life. “We must not fail on this responsibility. It is important for us to think of how to provide social security for our people.“We should ensure that every Nigerian has food to eat. “There is no money on the streets outside the country. The Federal Government is currently
raising dust over how the 26 dead migrants were buried in Italy without any
Nigerian representative.
My Emergency SOS on Adolescents and
Young People
Aren’t all these
legislative/executive proclamations ironical? What happened to the 2016 and
2016 budgetary allocations; does that mean these “basic needs” of Nigerian
youth are not included? Is policy direction /lack of strategic policies and
non-implementation the root cause of poor economic performance and poor mental
health status? Why is the Nigeria Mental Health Bill yet to be passed into
law, 13 years after being introduced to the National Assembly?
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| Nigeria National Assembly |
I keep asking
myself when will these “excellent” policies/statements /proclamations translate
into improved health budgets or action (incorporating mental health services
into mainstream primary healthcare) to make changes required if women are to
contribute effectively to Nigeria’s development?
Nigeria’s
80.2 million women and girls have significantly worse life chances than men and
also their sisters in comparable societies. Violence compounds and reinforces
this disadvantage and exclusion-British Council gender inequality report-2012.
As a Psychologist,
mental health and advocate, I am using this piece to send
an Emergency SOS* (Save our Soul) signal
on the health of these vulnerable groups-in particular Child and
Adolescents Mental Health (CAMH). Yes, I said CAMH. I would not be
surprised if some folks are just hearing those words for the first time! Can
you walk with me to see where I am heading? Great.
*Interestingly, the term SOS (Save Our
Souls) became the worldwide standard distress signal (particularly in maritime
use) on 1 July 1908. It has since entered the awareness of those who are
unlikely ever to summon help at sea –appearing in varied contexts.
Nigeria is a key stakeholder on
the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016–2030)
which identifies adolescents as being central to achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). At the Federal level, where are we on the “Every Woman Every Child movement”?; - a platform emphasizing the importance of measures to help all women, children &adolescents to realize their rights and full potential for health and well-being. These measures include policies &programmes for early childhood development &adolescent health. Removing barriers – such as those to CAMH problems, gender-equality, women’s socioeconomic and political participation are also key measures.
Barriers
to Nigeria Child and Adolescents Mental Health Services (CAMH)
In my quest to lend a voice on CAMH
problems, I contacted Olayinka Atilola (CAMH researcher &advocate;
Department of Behavioural Medicine, Lagos State University College of
Medicine). He said there is severe dearth of CAMH policy/strategy to respond to
the situation despite realities pointing to a potential risk for explosion in
the prevalence of CAMH problems. CAMH epidemiological data is
limited.
Other
key barriers include;
(a)Poor mental literacy in general; (b)Lack of and the poor
conceptualization of the scanty CAMH issues policies; (c)Ignorance and neglect of CAMH issues by policy makers; (d)Ignorance and neglect of CAMH issues
by policy makers; (e)Poor resource
capacity /few CAMH professionals; (f)Lack
of CAMH centres in most psychiatric hospitals and (g) Pediatric facilities in the country; (h)Complete neglect of the most vulnerable and difficult to reach
children (such as those within social welfare juvenile and justice settings.
Can you imagine
the impact of these barriers on the baseline resilience/mental health reserves
of children (especially girls) in connection to the North-East security crisis?
Child and adolescent mental
health is defined as the capacity to achieve and maintain
optimal psychological functioning and well being. It is directly related to the
level reached and competence achieved in psychological and social
functioning-(WHO).
Top
Health Challenges Facing Youth
Key Facts; (1) Half of all mental
health disorders in adulthood appear to start by age 14, but most cases are
undetected and untreated; (2) Depression
is the top cause of illness and disability among adolescents and suicide is the
third cause of death; (3) HIV,
suicide, alcohol, drug use, early pregnancy and childbirth and interpersonal
violence are other main causes of adolescent deaths; (4) Violence, poverty, humiliation and feeling devalued can
increase the risk of developing mental health problems- Source- WHO.
I give credits to
development stakeholders at the international, national and community levels
spearheading maternal and child health in Nigeria. However, mental health
issues cannot be considered in isolation from other areas of development
(education, economic empowerment, emergency responses and human rights capacity
building). CAMH problems are yet to be given priority in Nigeria, as child
health initiatives and policies are still geared largely towards the prevention
and management of the so-called childhood killer disease, almost to the
exclusion of CAMH issues (Omigbodun, 2009). So what issues are at stake? CAMH
and socio-political determinants are crucial to the survival of Nigerian
children, girls and women. How do I mean?
Poverty, low human
development capacity and a large child population set the stage for poor
physical, social and mental health outcomes for children. Given such difficult
circumstances as; the North-East security crisis, child trafficking/labor,
child abuse, prostitution, street living, child marriage; children will suffer
from preventable mental health problems while those in need of curative
services may not get it. Thus, constituting a major social and economic burden
on families and the society
My
Utopian Views/MindTopia on Mental Health in Nigeria
(1)Increased mental health funding to meet
the AU, 2001 “Abuja declaration”;
(2)Scale-up of community based preventive treatment interventions; (3)CAMH
centres with up-to-date facilities for restorative treatment; (4)Mental care services in primary
health care facilities; (5)A cost effective primary mental
healthcare system/cost burden to be progressive (i.e. rich people pay more; (6) Pediatrics/health workers equipped to deal with common CAMH
problems; (7)Ratio of CAMH
professionals to be 1 to 5 patients;
(8)Create interest and awareness in identifying
the source mental health problems;
(9)Availability of epidemiology data
for monitoring spread of risks factors (environment/biological); (10)Above all, to see a system that
ensures everyone experiencing mental health problems is not discriminated
against, gets support from family and relevant government agencies.
Now those are my #MindTopia on
#9jaMindWorks What’s your Utopian View? Drop your comments/email
at 9jamindworks@gmail.com
Anthonia .J. Ojokojo is a Psychologist and Community development Specialist. She is also a mental health blogger, coach and advocate
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