Medical professionals have called on the good spirited people to support the federal government initiative against the misuse of hard drugs among the youth.
Indeed, the professionals lamented over the alarming rate of drug misuse amongst the Nigerian active youth population, warning that the situation poses threat to their productivity levels.
Speaking on the sidelines of a book launch written by the former Director of Administration, Federal Neuro-Psychiatry Hospital, Yaba, Chief Sigismond Olayode Fernandez, the Medical Director, Federal Neuro-Psychiatry Hospital, Yaba, Dr. Olugbenga Owoeye, however stated the need to prioritize investment into promoting initiatives aimed at promoting mental health services in the country.
He said the stigmatisation of mental illness is a dangerous challenge in Nigeria, maintaining that the hospital is creating awareness to mitigate the issue.
“This is what we are trying to achieve with the book launch. The book launch contains the evolution of mental health services in Nigeria and how to promote mental health in Nigeria,” he said.
“If you look at the number of patients we admit nowadays, over 70 per cent of these patients are drug abuse related. This is what we are fighting against and here in Nigeria, we have various infrastructure to manage the mental health of those patients engaged in drugs. We are also promoting mental health in the area of preventing drug abuse,” added
He stated that the challenges faced are quite enormous such as infrastructure development, weak buildings, but acknowledged the efforts of the federal government to allocating resources for upgrade and renovation of the hospital.
He called on the organised private sector and non-governmental organisations for financial assistance to improve both infrastructure and manpower development in hospitals across the nation.
He alsi tense activities of the current head of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), is quite commendable, saying that this is why the country is experiencing a surge in seizures of hard drugs.
We need to do more to sensitise these youths on the negative effects of taking hard drugs. We must as much as possible curb the influx of these drugs because many of these drugs are not made in Nigeria hence the need to beef up the operations of the officials at the nation’s points of entry,”
She urged the federal government to intensify its effort to combating the influx of hard drugs, saying that many of these drugs have been banned, but lamented that these drugs are still being sold in open and retail markets.
She advised Nigerian youths to abstain from hard drugs, noting the effects have far reaching negative impacts on the productivity levels of the Nigerian youths.
Also speaking, the former, Medical Director, Federal Neuro-Psychiatry Hospital Yaba, Dr. Oluwayemi Ogun, expressed worries over many doctors and nurses leaving the country in search of greener pastures, warning that the most of the hospitals across the country are overwhelmed.
On his part, the former Director of Administration, Federal Neuro-Psychiatry Hospital, Yaba, Chief Sigismond Olayode Fernandez, the Medical Director, Federal Neuro-Psychiatry Hospital, commended organisations and individuals that have done so much for the upliftment of mental health care, while imploring other professionals in the health sector to align themselves with bodies set up to promote mental health care in the country.
“Things are getting better and the dedication and willingness to work is still there. Compared to the other institutions I have been to over the past 20 years since I left office, I think this hospital stands out.
We need more efforts from government and we are lucky that this hospital has individuals that have doing a lot to help the federal government to promote mental health care in the country,” he said.
