The Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN) has revealed that the country's mental health needs are being attended to by fewer than 200 psychiatrists, despite a population of over 200 million people, as reported by Leadership.

The President of APN, Professor Taiwo Obindo, made this disclosure at the 55th Annual General Conference and Scientific Meeting of the association, which was held in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The conference, themed "Prioritizing Mental Health Needs of Nigeria in a Depressed Economy: An Urgent Call For Integrated, Comprehensive And Sustainable Interventions," highlighted the dire state of mental health care in Nigeria. Professor Obindo attributed the shortage of mental health professionals to the "japa syndrome," which has led to a significant depletion of the mental health workforce in the country.

Furthermore, Professor Obindo noted that mental health workers in Nigeria are overworked and underpaid, and that the situation must be addressed urgently. He also lamented that mental health has not received the necessary attention from the government, citing the example of Canada, which has a functional Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions.

“Mental health in Nigeria is still a programme under the Department of Public Health in the Federal Ministry of Health. One other area needing attention is the budgetary allocation to health, and by extension, the mental health, which is less than six percent.

“This falls short of the Abuja Declaration of 2001, where health allocation was to be pegged at a minimum of 15 percent of every country’s annual budget,” he said.

He called for the implementation of the Mental Health Act of 2021, which replaced the Lunacy Act of 1958.

In his lecture, Prof. Owoidoho Udofia, of the University of Calabar, said: “Study showed 12 percent of Nigerians have mental and behavioural disorder”.

“Mental illness makes up less than 30 percent of the burden in teaching hospitals in Nigeria. The illness is not only restricted to schizophrenia and psychosis. Substance use is high and there is need to improve diagnosis.

“There is also need to improve on the rates, as there is poor identification and research,” he said.