The Lagos State Government is set to hold a mental health conference geared towards drawing attention to the importance of a multi-sectoral approach to provide improved mental health care.
The conference, according to a statement on Sunday was organised to discuss a positive course towards providing the mental and social health assets in the state.
The conference, with the theme, ‘Responding to the Mental Health Needs of a 21st Century Megacity,’ would hold on Tuesday at the Landmark event centre, Lagos.
The state Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, in the statement, said the conference was an offshoot of the Livable City Conference held in 2013 which led to the drafting and enactment of the Mental Health Law of 2019 as well as the proposed establishment of a state-owned tertiary psychiatric hospital.
He said, “This conference is sequel to a previously organised event in 2013 where the Governor of Lagos State, top government functionaries from the executive, legislative and judiciary, private sector care providers, mental health professionals and social justice and security Experts gathered to discuss, engage, and address the mental and social needs of Lagos State.
“This event served as the springboard for the implementation of the state’s mental health policy, drafting and enactment of the Lagos State Mental Health Law and strategic programmes including integration of mental health into existing prevention and health promotion programmes of the state to improve access to mental health services.”
The Commissioner noted that the mental conference would be a forum and a platform for key government ministries and agencies, health care professionals, private sector, civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations to discuss prevailing issues in mental health, identify opportunities and areas for collaboration, as well as professional networking in the mental health sub-sector.
The experts scheduled to speak at the conference include Dr. Vincent Udenze, a United Kingdom based Consultant Psychiatrist and Prof. Akinyinka Omigbodun, a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.
Others according to the statement are, Prof Cheluchi Onyemelukwe, a leading health lawyer in Nigeria; Dr Yewande Oshodi, a Consultant Psychiatrist and a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Psychiatry, Lagos University Teaching Hospital; Dr Jibril Abdulmalik, a Senior Lecturer and Consultant Psychiatrist with the Department t of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and Prof. Abiodun Adewuya, a Professor of Public Mental Health.
