The call came Thursday, at Amaudo Itumbauzo in Bende LGA at the end of a One Day Seminar organised for Media Practitioners in the Southeast with the theme: “Changing The Narratives In Mental Health, The Role Of The Media”, organised by the Methodist Church Nigeria, Amaudo Integrated Mental Health Foundation, in partnership with Abia State Government, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Enugu, and Amaudo UK, on Thursday.
In a communique issued at the end of the seminar which was aimed at educating the media practitioners on basic mental health issues and their role in creating awareness for efficient and human-right-based mental health care in Nigeria, the participants called on the Federal Government to make the study of mental health and other related courses attractive to address the shortage of manpower in the mental health sub-sector.
While calling for increased budgetary provisions towards tackling mental health issues and provision of incentives for medical practitioners and Journalists in the field, the participants also called for the strengthening of relevant government agencies saddled with the responsibility of regulating drug use to restrict access to drugs, especially among the younger population.
They equally called on State Governments to domesticate and implement the new mental health act recently signed into law by the immediate past administration of President Mohammadu Buhari, advising that experts in mental health area should be open to discussing mental health-related issues with the media as a way of educating the public while families of victims of mental ill health should be encouraged to accommodate and assist them appropriately and avoid stigmatization.
Lack of adequate knowledge in the area as a challenge was identified, hence the need for regular seminars/training for Media Practitioners on mental health issues as a way of properly equipping them to eliminate bias in their reportage and enhance the publicity given to mental health issues.
They called on Media organisations “to design and dedicate adequate time to publicising mental health issues in their various media outfits as a way of enhancing sensitization of the public”.
They commended the organizers for putting up the program at a time many Nigerians are grappling with the harsh economic challenges occasioned by anti – People’s policies capable of triggering mental health concerns among the populace and also commended the management of Amaudo Integrated Mental Health Foundation for the huge humanitarian services they are rendering and called on the government to urgently address issues such as lack of access road, electricity and other infrastructural deficits in the area as a way of encouraging the foundation.
The organizers, led by the Director of the centre, Very Rev’d Kenneth Nwaubani expressed their belief that the seminar would equally educate the media organisations on their role in creating awareness of mental health and address poor mental health knowledge, negative socio-cultural and religious perceptions and interpretations of mental health that promote stigma and discrimination as well as reduce help-seeking behaviors in mental health among the population.
They pleaded with governments at all levels to assist the centre with funds and road infrastructure which they have been battling with since 1989 when the centre was established.
The seminar was attended by media practitioners from Abia and Imo states.
