‘Nigeria Must Match Mental Health Talk With Action’

Mental health advocate, Saad Faridah, has called on the federal government and relevant stakeholders to move beyond awareness campaigns and invest more in mental healthcare services across the country.

Faridah made the call at a forum in Abuja yesterday, where she said that although conversations around mental health were increasing in Nigeria, millions of citizens still lacked access to professional care and support systems.

According to her, mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and burnout are now being openly discussed, especially among young people on campuses, workplaces and social media platforms.She, however, warned that awareness alone was insufficient without concrete action, funding and institutional support.

Faridah noted that Nigeria’s mental health system remained fragile, under-resourced and inaccessible to many citizens, adding that fewer than 300 psychiatrists currently serve a population of over 200 million people.

She said the shortage of professionals had left millions without proper diagnosis or treatment, adding that people should be careful relying solely on social media content and motivational messages as solutions to mental health challenges.

According to her, digital platforms have helped amplify mental health conversations but have also created the false impression that serious conditions can be resolved through quick tips and inspirational posts.

“Healing is deliberate, sustained and, in many cases, clinical. Reducing mental health to soundbites trivialises real conditions and delays real help,” she said.

Faridah further observed that stigma surrounding mental health had not disappeared despite growing public discussions.

She said many people still feared being labelled weak or unstable in homes, workplaces and faith communities, leading to what she described as a culture where “people speak online but suffer offline.”

While acknowledging the introduction of the National Mental Health Act as a positive development, she stressed that laws alone would not solve the country’s mental health crisis without adequate funding, trained personnel and functional facilities.

She urged universities to provide accessible and confidential counselling services, while calling on employers to prioritise mental well-being as part of workplace productivity.

She also appealed to the Federal Ministry of Health to integrate mental healthcare into the country’s primary healthcare system.

According to her, technology and mobile applications may support awareness and information dissemination, but cannot replace professional and human-centred care.

She said Nigeria had reached a critical point where conversations on mental health must now be matched with implementation, investment and cultural change.