Abia Assembly joins advocacy for mental healthcare

The Abia State House of Assembly has joined in the advocacy for proper care for mental health challenges in the state with a view to creating the right awareness of its causes and proffering solutions to the victims.

The chairman of the House Committee on Health, Hon. Emeka Obioma, disclosed this while speaking with journalists shortly after a presentation of a survey report on mental health advocacy.

The study, tagged ‘A Banstop Prevent,’ was conducted by a group known as Walk 347 in conjunction with NAS Magna Carta, with the intent to eradicate harmful practices in mental health care by changing attitudes and engaging healers in Ubakala Umuahia South Local Government Area.

Obioma disclosed that the House Committee on Health is working assiduously to create awareness among the youths who are majorly the victims of mental health disorders as a result of poor decisions they often make.

He revealed that the awareness covers seminars for secondary school students to educate them on the dangers associated with substance abuse, which has been identified as the root cause of most mental health illnesses.

He commended the groups that conducted the study and assured them that the state government would be willing to work with them in its resolve to secure the future of Abia youths through regular enlightenment on the causes of mental diseases.

He said, “The state Assembly is fully aware of this programme and its importance. In the House Committee on Health, we have the Deputy Speaker, the Majority Leader and the Chief Whip of the House, and it’s almost like the leadership of the House in one committee. It gives the committee the opportunity to push for whatever it intends to achieve.

“I have spoken with my brothers, who conducted the survey. We are comparing notes. First of all, the idea is for our committee to bring a motion to the floor of the House to create awareness about mental health in the state. We will also consider making laws that would care for and protect those suffering from mental illness against harmful practices like chaining, flogging and confinement.

“A lot of reconstruction is already happening in some of our health institutions, and one of the facilities that will be put in place is where people can come to seek help for mental issues.

“Some people may be having mental challenges without knowing. For instance, when someone’s output at work is reducing, it is enough reason for them to seek help from a psychologist.

“Chaining mentally ill people must stop. There has to be awareness so that people can take those with mental challenges to appropriate quarters for help.

“We are also organizing a workshop in Aba next weekend in some selected schools with the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency to also create awareness about the negative effects of hard drugs. If you look at the report we have, it’s usually the secondary students that are mostly the victims of hard drugs because they lack complete information.”

Also speaking, Dr Christian Abuajah,

the field project coordinator, Banstop Advocacy Pilot Field Survey, said the study revealed that substance abuse is the predominant cause of mental health challenges in the community under review.

He added that another challenge discovered was the method of treatment given to those affected by mental illness as a result of religious and cultural practices.

He said, “We found out from the area we visited that the predominant cause of mental illness is substance abuse, which is causing young people to lose coordination trying to show unruly behaviours.

“The quality of the result we got amazed our partners because we got first information from the locals, especially from challenges and expectations from our study in the three communities of Apumiri, Mgbarakuma and Nsukwe.’’

“The traditional ruler of Mgbarakuma asked to come back to proffer a solution if we find out the root cause of the issues, because many young ones are in serious problems because of hard drugs and peer influence.

“The second phase of the project will be the advocacy stage. The results show that one of the factors that affects people’s choice of where to seek for healing is enlightenment and education. If mental illness is caused by substance abuse and spiritual or traditional healing methods is applied in treating the patient, the right result will not be achieved.

“I was impressed with one of the spiritual healers we met. He said he runs an evaluation test on his patients to ascertain the cause of the illnesses before giving treatment, and if he finds out that it is not related to his area of speciality, he will refer the person to the appropriate place for treatment.”

Some of the partners, including Chudi Nwigwe, PhD, Chukwudi Onwudinanti and Dr Femi Adebajo commended the National Association of Seadogs and Walk 347, who played a crucial role in the state during the research survey in Abia State.