Experts have drawn attention to the rising waves of mental disorders in Nigeria, necessitating the need for serious concern and concerted efforts.
According to the 2017 World Health Day Data, the global agency, WHO, revealed that about 7 million Nigerians suffer from depression, one of the most ignored and misunderstood forms of mental disorder.
Other mental health disorders include schizophrenia, depression, intellectual disabilities and disorders due to drug abuse which, in some cases, are treatable.
Corroborating the global health body’s estimates for Nigeria, the permanent secretary of Nigeria’s health ministry, Abdulaziz Abdullahi, said one in every ten Nigerians suffers from one form of mental disorders or the other. He made this disclosure in Abuja at a mental health action committee and stakeholders workshop.
“In Nigeria, an estimated 20–30 per cent of our population are believed to suffer from mental disorders. This is a very significant number, considering that Nigeria has an estimated population of 200 million. Unfortunately, the attention given to mental health disorders in Nigeria is inadequate,” he said.
He decried the poor level of public awareness on mental health in Nigeria, describing it as understandably poor, with lots of misconceptions.
“By 2020, it is estimated that common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse-related disorders, will disable more people than complications arising from HIV/AIDS, heart disease, accidents, and wars combined,” he said.
According to him, recent data is quite surprising and raises serious questions as to why mental health disorders are not given the much needed attention that it deserves.
“A policy for mental health services delivery was developed with several key provisions of the policy, including establishing a body at the Federal Ministry of Health to focus on Mental Health issues,” the permanent secretary said.
WHO defined mental disorders as a broad range of problems, with different presenting symptoms, characterized by some combination of abnormal thoughts, emotions, behaviour and relationships with others.
Some of the pertinent issues are how to address and dialogue with stakeholders on the burden of mental health, intimate them on the Mental Health policy, identify ways to fast track the enactment of the Mental Health Act and modalities for resuscitating the National mental health action committee for coordinating the activities of various stakeholders on mental health and Psychosocial supports in Nigeria.
Throwing more light on mental health disorder, The director of public health in the ministry, Evelyn Ngige, expressed deep concern over the statistics, describing it as damning. She said it could get worse given the current economic hardships in the country.
She said: “Considering the current economic situation in the country, the above statistics are damning and in the light of the recent suicidal episodes recorded in parts of Lagos, it forces a rethink in our general attitudes to mental health and questions our current maintenance of the status quo.”
According to her, there are more than 200 classified forms of mental illnesses. Some of the more common mental disorders are depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders. Symptoms may include changes in mood, personality, personal habits and/or social withdrawal.
Mental illnesses may be caused by a reaction to environmental stresses, genetic factors, biochemical imbalances, or a combination of these.
She said, “Psychiatrists and health experts have often attributed the rapid rise of mental health disorders in the country precisely to stigma and lack of public awareness.
“Often times, whenever, mental disorder is mentioned in Nigeria, what comes to mind is the picture of a naked and unkempt person who is totally unaware of his/her environment, but such category is just a little part of the varying mental disorders known, even though it could be referred to as the extreme case of the health condition, health experts say.”
According to the expert, in Nigeria, people with mental health disorders are either stigmatized, untreated ignored or poorly understood, thereby further worsening the conditions.