Stakeholders Urge State Governments to Domesticate  National Mental Health Act

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Mental Health Community has called on the State governments to domesticate the National Mental Health Act.

It also called on those contesting for elected offices to make mental health a national priority.

President Muhammad Buhari recently signed the National Mental Health Bill 2021 into law, marking a major milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to improve support for psychosocial wellbeing. 

The Bill had been in the works for over 20 years, but all previous attempts at legislative overhaul of the sector in 2003 and 2013 failed.

Reacting to the signing of the Bill into law, the Founder of Nigerian Mental Health, Chime Asonye, said the  legislation was a product of decades of advocacy from diverse organizations. 

He said: “The mental health community came together to speak with one voice in support of the Bill. We now need Executive implementation, state governments to domesticate this legislation, and those contesting for elected office to make mental health a national priority.”

Asonye also called on the government to enact other critical reforms for those with mental health conditions, such as decriminalising attempted suicide, which is currently a felony subject to a year in prison.

Also, the President of the National Association of Clinical Psychologists, Prof. Gboyega Abikoye said the Act was the first legislative reform adopted in the field since the country’s Independence.

He explained that the Act establishes human rights protections for those with mental health conditions, such as banning discrimination in housing, employment, medical, and other social services. 

Abikoye added that the Act  also guarantees that those receiving treatments have the right to participate in formulating their medical plans and cannot have forced treatment, seclusion, or other methods of restraint —  common practices in mental health facilities — without appropriate safeguards.

He said: “Past legislation was outdated and inhumane. The previous regulatory regime was based on the regional Lunacy Act of 1958, a colonial holdover that needed to be replaced.”

He noted that other provisions of the Bill include establishing a new Mental Health Fund, a Mental Health Department in the Federal Ministry of Health, and a Mental Health Assessment Committee to protect stakeholders. 

Abikoye stressed that the Act expands community-based coverage and improves the care and management of those with mental health conditions. 

“While there is still a long way to go in developing the mental health sector in Nigeria, this law is a step in the right direction,” he said.