Yale University, United States has restated commitment to help Nigeria and other African countries to strengthen their mental health care systems to meet the world best practices.
The university is also set to contribute meaningfully through collaboration with relevant institutions to the study and preservation of African languages. Yale University is 319-year-old and third oldest in the United States.
The president of the university, Professor Peter Salovey, gave the assurance in Lagos on Friday while addressing newsmen on the university’s ongoing efforts on its ‘Happiness Project-which is the health action for psychiatric problems and other programmes- under her Africa Initiative projects in Nigeria.
According to him, the university efforts in this regards is worthwhile not only because many Nigerians with mental health challenges could not access simple and effective care but also because of the huge implications of such conditions on Nigeria’s socio-economic development and its prime position in African economy.
While noting that the university had already started the ‘Happiness Project’ in Nigeria by partnering the Imo State University Teaching Hospital with the project being supported by the Yale Global Mental Health Programme, CBM International, and the Imo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, he explained that the team of psychiatrists from the university led by two Nigerians-Thaddeus Iheanacho and Charles Dike- would oversee the training of primary healthcare workers from cities down to the rural communities on the effective ways to screen and manage people with mental disorders including epilepsy and substances.
Salovey, a professor of psychology and 23rd president of Yale, said this action would increase significantly the access to effective, evidence-based treatments for mental and neurological disorders especially in underserved areas of Nigeria, using technology and existing care infrastructure.
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He said the project is life-long and would be extended to other states in Nigeria and then other African countries.
Shedding light on the project, Theddeus Iheanacho and his Nigerian colleague- Charles Dike, both associate professors at the university, re-emphasised that truly there was much need in helping Nigeria and other African countries to tackle mental health problems confronting the continent.
They noted that they were surprised to see, for example, that only one full-time psychiatrist is in entire Imo State serving about five million residents while no single psychiatric hospital available.
“And that is why it is virtually impossible to get a mental health care referral in the state,” said Iheanacho. “So, anything we can do to push the needle, even if we can get just 100 people into care, it worth it.”
They, however, said their interest in mental health education and bringing happiness project to Nigeria was borne out of their exposure abroad to this branch of medical issue and plans to contribute their own quota to the wellness of Nigerians.
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