President of World Medical Association (WMA), Dr. Osahon Enabulele, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari, to give assent to the Mental Health Bill to address challenges of mental health, strengthen services, and also boost development of human resource for health.
Enabulele, in his remarks at The Vanguard 2nd Mental Health Summit, urged Buhari to work harder to improve the socioeconomic life of Nigerians.
He recommended: “I also wish to call for value re-orientation, increased advocacy, education and awareness creation, as well as increased financial protection for people with mental health problems and a dedicated budget for family health and mental health of not less than two per cent of the yearly health budget, revitalisation of the referral system and community health services, and mainstreaming family and mental health in all policies and sectors, investment in family and mental health research.”
“Importantly, we must all work hard to end stigmatisation and discrimination against people with mental health problems. While we seek to address the root causes of mental health issues, affected people deserve to be treated with dignity.”