Lagos Unveils Mental Health Directory To Improve Access

Lagos State has unveiled the Lagos Community of Mental Health Providers (LCP) Directory, a pioneering digital registry that centralises verified information on all mental health practitioners and organisations across the state.

The launch, which took place at Lagos State Ministry of Health, Alausa-Ikeja, marks a significant advancement in the state’s efforts to enhance access to mental healthcare services, reduce stigma, and foster collaboration among providers in Nigeria’s most populous city.

The head, Special Projects and Mental Health, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Tolu Ajomale, said the directory marks a “historic and system-shaping milestone” in Lagos State’s commitment to improving access, reducing stigma, and strengthening coordination within its fast-expanding mental health ecosystem.

He emphasised that, despite Lagos being home to Nigeria’s largest concentration of mental health practitioners, the absence of a unified, verified information hub has long hindered access and timely help-seeking.

Ajomale explained that the new directory directly addresses these gaps by providing a single, trusted, real-time platform where residents, families, healthcare workers, development partners, and policymakers can identify credible mental healthcare providers, their locations, areas of expertise, and accessibility.

“This platform replaces confusion with clarity, isolation with collaboration, and misinformation with accountability,” he noted.

The directory, he added, aligns with the Lagos State Mental Health Law (2018), the THEMES+ Agenda, and the Ministry’s broader public health and primary healthcare strengthening strategies.

He described it as a major step toward consolidating the state’s leadership in mental-health reform and ensuring that every Lagosian can find help safely, reliably, and promptly.

According to Ajomale, the LCP Directory captures both clinical and non-clinical actors, including psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, therapists, NGOs, digital health innovators, research institutions, community groups, support networks, and diaspora providers offering virtual services.

This inclusive scope, he said, reflects the state’s commitment to recognising all contributors to mental wellbeing.

He listed improved access to credible resources, enhanced visibility for providers, strengthened referral systems, and support for research, planning, and policy implementation among the platform’s core benefits.