‘Japa’ Syndrome To Take Centre-stage At New York Mental Health Confab

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The increasing incidence of mental health problems among Nigerians and black communities across the world would be the crux of discussions in New York in the United States come May when experts and others would converge on Weschester for the 2024 edition of Created Unique Mental Health conference.
The four-day conference and experts’ engagements event which opens from May 23, 2024 will address some of the established mental health problems that the Black community, especially those that have emigrated from Africa in search of better living conditions across the globe grapple with.

The conference will feature plenaries and networking sessions during which various categories of experts, including mental health practitioners in different specialties, government representatives, healthcare workers, religious leaders, and stakeholders in the United States and other parts of the world would engage in rich interactions, share experiences, and partake in a workshop for healthcare workers, that is filled with practical valuable tips for recognizing and successfully addressing mental health issues among various groups of people.

Ify Ezinwa, convener of the conference who gave further hints on the focus of the event said adequate time would also be spent to look at some of the mental health issues faced by Nigerians who have migrated to the United States and other countries in what has become famed as the Japa Syndrome.
Speaking from her base in New York, Ezinwa said, “Japa, as emigration has come to be known in Nigeria provides many facets of opportunities and problems. What you get from your host country depends on how mentally prepared you are. Unfortunately, most people who migrate just want to leave, a reason most of them go into mental health crisis once they are hit by unforeseen situations that give contrary impression from their pre-conceived expectations”.