Stakeholders in Bauchi State have called for the creation of a dedicated budget line for mental health services to improve access to care and strengthen mental health programmes in secondary healthcare facilities across the state.
The call was made at a roundtable meeting organised by the Better Life Restoration Initiative (BERI) in partnership with Youth Adolescent Health Initiatives and Counseling (YAHIC), under the ASPIRE project Thursday in Bauchi.
The ASPIRE project is implemented by Plan International Nigeria and funded by Global Affairs Canada.
The meeting, which focused on strengthening mental health services in state secondary healthcare facilities, brought together health policymakers, officials of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), including representatives of its Department of Psychiatry, and other stakeholders.
Participants agreed that the Hospital Management Board should collaborate with ATBUTH to train health workers on mental healthcare service delivery.
They also recommended the selection of five secondary healthcare facilities across the state to pilot the mental healthcare programme.
The stakeholders, however, expressed concern over the absence of a formal mental health referral pathway in the state, saying the gap could hinder timely access to appropriate treatment.
YAHIC presented an assessment of the availability of mental healthcare services at Bayara General Hospital and ATBUTH, which revealed that referrals were largely informal and conducted in a haphazard manner.
Presenting a paper on the prevalence and burden of mental health-related issues in Bauchi State, a psychiatrist, Dr Musa Dahiru, said one in every four adolescents was suffering from one mental health condition or another.
He stressed the need for stronger investment in mental healthcare, particularly for adolescents and young people.
