Asido Campus Network Organises Mental Health Training For Undergraduates In Lagos

In commemoration of World Suicide Prevention Month, the Asido Campus Network team under the leadership of Dr Semiloore Atere, Tawakalt Olaoluwa, and Olaoluwaposi Ogunlana, organized a physical training for 50 undergraduate students across tertiary institutions in Lagos state, Nigeria. The purpose of this training was to equip undergraduate students with adequate knowledge about mental health issues, self-care and how to administer mental health first aid.

According to the World Health Organization, suicide is one of the leading causes of death amongst youths especially students of tertiary institutions. In Lagos state, there have been recent cases of suicidal deaths amongst the student population. A study cited by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reveals that among people who die by suicide, 90 percent of cases may be attributable to a mental illness at the time of death. The burden of mental illnesses are higher in low and middle income countries like Nigeria, however, there is a massive shortage of mental health services to cater to the needs of our enormous population.

Asido Campus Network, a student led mental health organization, sought to address this urgent problem through the Envoy Fellowship Initiative. The physical training involved guest lectures from seasoned mental health experts like Dr Jibril Abdulmalik, Dr Gbonjubola Abiri, and Mr Mohamed Ahmed (MentorMoh). Participants engaged in various fun and enlightening sessions including a group Brainstorming session.

Over the next six months, these participants will work together to create a mental health toolkit for undergraduates to increase mental health awareness amongst undergraduates, improve efforts at mental health hygiene and ultimately prevent suicide on our campuses.